Sir Ian Botham paid tribute to "magnificent" James Anderson after the seamer broke his record to become England's record Test wicket-taker.
Anderson bagged his 384th Test victim in his 100th Test when he had Denesh Ramdin caught at slip by captain Alastair Cook on the final day of the drawn first Test against West Indies in Antigua.
Sky Sports pundit Botham applauded from the commentary box and then hailed the 32-year-old’s ability with the ball, insisting he has at least two years’ more Test cricket in him.
“I’m delighted for him because he is a quite magnificent bowler,” Botham reflected. “This record has been a burden for him and for me; he was always going to go past it – I’ve said that for a year-and-a-half now.
“These skills take a long time to develop. I’ve been lucky enough to be in the commentary box for pretty much all of Jimmy’s career. I’ve witnessed him take all of those wickets and continually take them.
“He has developed those skills – the subtle changes between the inswinger and the outswinger, the cutter, the slower ball – through hard work, experimenting and getting it right.
“That’s why I enjoy watching him bowl; the control and the skills are quite magnificent.
“These guys don’t come along every five minutes – I think he’ll go on for another two or three years. I think he can get to 450+ wickets easily. We’ve got 16 more Tests this year!
“It was a great delivery to get the record with – a little leg-cutter - and put England back in the game. He’s got desire – you can see that in the way he performed today.
“Jimmy Anderson is here for a long time yet and he will lead the pack for at least two or three years, I believe.
“He can do things that other people can’t do with the cricket ball – it’s as simple as that. No-one’s challenged him as the leader of the pack.
“He works hard on his fielding and is a great fielder. When he first turned up he didn’t know which end of a bat to hold but now he can support and help people.”
Fellow Sky Sports commentator David Gower added: “As a former batsman it’s sometimes hard to appreciate the sheer effort that goes into bowling quick.
“Jimmy Anderson has been going 12 years – and he’s been going strong. It seems as though he’s got plenty of life left in him.
“He’s now the finished article and a very different beast from the raw talent that first came onto the scene all of those years ago.”