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JIMMY ANDERSON fought back tears as he bid farewell to cricket after a long and illustrious career.

The England legend had an emotional send-off at Lord's after playing his final Test match.

Jimmy Anderson fought back tears after playing his final Test
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Jimmy Anderson fought back tears after playing his final TestCredit: Reuters
The legendary bowler has retired aged 41
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The legendary bowler has retired aged 41Credit: Getty
He ends his career as the third-highest wicket-taker of all time
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He ends his career as the third-highest wicket-taker of all timeCredit: PA
He added four more wickets to his tally against West Indies
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He added four more wickets to his tally against West IndiesCredit: Rex
But he missed out on the perfect ending after dropping a catch on the final wicket
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But he missed out on the perfect ending after dropping a catch on the final wicketCredit: Getty
Anderson came out to a standing ovation
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Anderson came out to a standing ovationCredit: Rex

The bowler became emotional when discussing his final match and his retirement after England beat the West Indies in the first Test of a three-match series.

His voice started to crack when he spoke to Sky Sports after the win, with Anderson admitting he was fighting back tears.

Anderson said: "I'm still gutted I dropped that catch. But it's been an amazing week, I've been quite overwhelmed with the reaction from the crowd and everyone around the ground.

"I'm just proud of what I've achieved.

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"This morning was quite emotional with the two teams lined up and the reaction from the crowd was pretty special

"I'm still trying to hold them (tears) back now. I think I'm just really proud of playing for 20-odd years...is an incredible effort especially for a fast bowler.

"So I'm just happy that I've made it this far. Happy to stay injury-free pretty much throughout my career.

"Playing for England is the best job in the world so I've been privileged to be able to do it for a long time."

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Anderson, 41, almost capped off his brilliant career in the perfect way, but dropped a caught and bowled opportunity on the final wicket.

He was still England's highest wicket-taker with four as his side thrashed their opponents, winning by an innings and 114 runs.

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That means Anderson ends his career as the third-highest wicket-taker of all time with a haul of 704 - four behind legend Shane Warne and a massive 96 behind Sri Lanka's Muthiah Muralidaran.

He is England's record wicket-taker by a margin of 100 ahead of Stuart Broad and the Test against West Indies was the 188th of his career - the second-highest total of any player behind Sachin Tendulkar.

Anderson called it a day on his 21-year career
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Anderson called it a day on his 21-year careerCredit: Getty

England Cricket fixtures summer 2024

Test

West Indies

First Test - July 10-14

Second Test - July 18-22

Third Test - July 26-30

Sri Lanka

First Test - August 21-25

Second Test - August 29 - September 2

Third Test - September 6-10

ODI

Australia - September 19, 21, 24, 27, 19

T20

Pakistan - May 22, 25, 28, 30

Australia - September 11, 13, 15

T20 World Cup

Scotland - June 4

Australia - June 8

Oman - June 13

Namibia - June 15

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