England's Leading Wicket-Taker Anderson Retiring From Test Cricket

With a record as the leading pace bowler in Test history, Anderson will bid farewell to red-ball cricket during England's series against West Indies in July. The upcoming three-match ICC World Test Championship series will kick off with the opening Test at Lords. Having recently achieved the milestone of 700 Test wickets during the match against India this year Anderson shared his retirement plans on social media.

After a career spanning over two decades, 41-year-old Anderson has established himself as one of the bowlers in Test cricket history since making his debut at Lords in 2003. With a total of 700 wickets from 187 Tests, his absence will be keenly felt in cricket following his decision to retire. Following discussions with managing director Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, England's leading wicket-taker Jimmy Anderson is set to bid adieu to Test cricket.

Anderson revealed on Saturday that he will be retiring after the Test, against West Indies scheduled for 10 July following reports of discussions with the England management emerging on Friday. Key confirmed that the leadership trio reached a consensus to conclude Anderson's career and met with the 41-year-old at a hotel in Manchester in April, where McCullum travelled from New Zealand.

Former Kent batsman Key aged 45 was part of the England squad when Anderson made his Test debut at Lords as a 20-year-old against Zimbabwe back in 2003. With 700 wickets to his name, Anderson stands as the leading pace bowler in Test cricket history and occupies place on the all-time list of wicket-takers trailing Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. Following Stuart Broad's retirement in summer England is bidding farewell to its two successful Test bowlers in consecutive home matches. Key mentioned that while England will still have experienced pace bowlers like Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, younger talents now have an opportunity to refine their skills.

Jofra Archer's been called into the England's squad. That's for the T20 World Cup. He was sidelined from cricket because of a bad elbow injury. Archer might get some practice in before the T20 series, against Pakistan by bowling during one of the two days of Sussex 2nd XIs match against Kent at Beckenham starting on Tuesday. The 29-year-old has been working on his recovery by playing cricket for a club in his hometown of Barbados.

Common Cricket Betting Options

Cricket offers a range of betting markets, like doctorspins, to choose from reflecting the sport's complexity and various formats. Here are some popular options.

Coin Toss

A straightforward, easy bet where you'll predict the outcomes of the coin's toss before the game begins. You can wager on the team winning the toss or whether it will be heads or tails. The coin toss plays a role in cricket, impacting match strategies regarding batting or fielding decisions.

Runs Over/Under

This betting market is predicting the total runs scored by a team. It can also be in a match above or below a set number. Here's how it functions;

Total Runs (Team)

Bet on the runs scored by one team or both teams combined. Punters can place over/under bets where a line is set. They'll need to predict if the actual total exceeds or is below that line.

Total Runs (Match)

Punters wager on the combined runs scored by both teams throughout the match based on a line set by the bookmaker.

There are also specific, over/under bets on runs scored in game periods, such as Innings Runs and Sessions Runs. These bets involve predicting the runs scored in an inning or session commonly seen in Test cricket. The over/under market allows bettors to utilise their knowledge of team performance, pitch conditions and match circumstances to forecast scoring patterns.

A Match Winner bet is on the victorious team. And the Top Batsman and Top Bowler markets are to bet on the player to score the runs. It can also be who'll take the most wickets in a match or in a whole series.

Lastly there's betting available for Man of The Match and Player of The Series awards allowing punters to predict which player will be honoured for their performance either within a match or, throughout an entire tournament.