Final day belongs to James Anderson as England seal series win

England drew the third Test at the Ageas Bowl to seal a first series win over Pakistan since 2010.

But, really, the fifth day of the final Test of this biosecure summer will be remembered for James Anderson becoming the first quick bowler to reach 600 wickets. Pakistan captain Azhar Ali (31) would be the collector’s item. A delivery that caught him on the crease and clipped an edge through to captain Joe Root.

He is the first fast bowler to make it to the landmark, unchartered territory for any Englishman. The three above him – Anil Kumble (618) Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800) - are all spinners. Surpassing the Indian leg spinner may be within reach, but the Australian and Sri Lankan are probably beyond him.

Nevertheless, the last hundred has come at an average of 22, an indication that the powers have no diminished. Indeed, on a flat Ageas Bowl pitch, he was one of the few to come out with any joy: a 29th five-wicket haul in the first innings (five for 56) as Pakistan were bowled out first for 273 and then was the leading threat in the follow-on innings, taking two for 45 before hands were shaken at 6:05pm. With Pakistan 187 for four, still 123 runs away from making England bat again but nowhere near enough time left for it to matter.

Play only began on the final day at 4:15pm with a morning storm soaking the outfield to ensure there was only 27.1 of the expected 98 overs on day five. It would only bring two further wickets after Pakistan began on 100 for two: Anderson’s 600th and that of Asad Shafiq, who clipped the part-time spin of Root to substitute fielder James Bracey at short leg.

By then, the match had already lost its relevance, and maybe a bit of its sheen as the part-time leg spin of Dom Sibley was given an outing. It was an over that only went for seven runs but featured three no balls and as many groans of laughter and anguish from the few who were at the ground.

To be honest, the series win was set on its way as early as England’s first innings, before the handshakes confirmed a 1-0 scoreline. A mammoth first innings score of 583 for eight declared took defeat off the table for the hosts, thanks largely to a maiden Test hundred of 267 from Zak Crawley. It would earn him the man of the match award.

Crawley was helped by Jos Buttler’s 152 which formed part of a record-breaking fifth wicket partnership of 359. That knock, combined with Buttler’s match-winning 75 in the first Test match earned the wicketkeeper-batsman England’s player-of-the-series award. Pakistan’s equivalent honour was bestowed upon Mohammad Rizwan who scored 161 runs in the series at an average of 40, including two battling half-centuries.

All in all, it has been a positive summer for England, with two series win and three victories in six Tests, with just the one defeat. Moreover, it has been a triumph of the ECB’s logistics and operations team for creating bio-secure environments here at the Ageas Bowl and at Emirates Old Trafford. What could have been a grave financial crisis for the ECB, and English cricket, has been curtailed to a point.

But the biggest thanks should go to West Indies and Pakistan for travelling to the United Kingdom, with its 41,000-plus deaths and 327,000 confirmed cases, and holing themselves up in hotels for six weeks each, with no link to the outside. Similarly so Ireland’s player and Australia, who arrived into England on Monday.

This is the last English Test in 2020, and while there are matches scheduled for the start of 2021 against Sri Lanka and India, there is no certainty they will go ahead. Though the last two matches have been severely hampered by rain, there is relief across the world that Test cricket was able to return and play out with its recognisable rhythms in these uncertain terms.