England’s All-Time Top Wicket-Taker James Anderson Honored with Knighthood

Legendary England pacer James Anderson has been awarded a Knighthood, becoming the latest cricketer from the country to receive the honor. England’s all-time leading wicket-taker was the only sportsperson included in former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list. Anderson now joins a distinguished list of cricketers to be knighted including former England captains Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook.

Following in the footsteps of Ian Botham (2007), Geoffrey Boycott (2019), Alastair Cook (2019) and Andrew Strauss (2019), Anderson becomes the fifth cricketer since 2000 and the thirteenth overall to be knighted for his contributions to the game. In July 2024, he announced his retirement from Test cricket, bringing the curtain down on a truly illustrious career.

James Anderson ended his Test career with 704 wickets the most by any fast bowler in the history of the format. At 42, he firmly established himself as one of the greatest pace bowlers the sport has ever seen also taking 269 wickets in ODIs and 18 in T20 internationals.

Though he has stepped away from international cricket, Anderson still features in county cricket. However, a calf injury kept him out of the start of the current County Championship season. He was included in the long list for last year’s IPL auction but wasn’t shortlisted for the super auction, and he also went unsold in The Hundred draft earlier this year.

List of Cricketers Who Have Received Knighthood

James Anderson's Bowling Statistics Across Formats