Former England Pacer James Anderson Honoured with 'Knighthood' for Outstanding Contribution to Cricket.
Awards
In April 2025, former England fast bowler Sir James Michael Anderson was recently awarded a 'Knighthood', one of the highest civilian honours conferred by the British Monarchy or Commonwealth nations, in recognition of his exceptional services to cricket.
- He was granted this prestigious honour as part of former United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list. Notably, Sir James Anderson is the only sportsperson included in this list.
- With this honour, Anderson becomes the 13th England cricketer to be knighted for contributions to the sport, joining a prestigious list of legends who have served English cricket with distinction.
- The PM’s Resignation Honours are awards granted at the request of an outgoing UK Prime Minister, allowing the British monarch to bestow honours such as peerages, knighthoods, and damehoods under the UK honours system. Notable cricketers who have received knighthoods include Australia’s Sir Donald Bradman (1949) and West Indies legends Sir Garfield Sobers (1975), Sir Everton Weekes (1995), and Sir Vivian Richards (1999).
Main Point :- (i) Sir James Anderson made his debut for the England cricket team in December 2002, playing his first One-Day International (ODI) against Australia. He entered the Test cricket arena in 2003 against Zimbabwe at Lord's, where he made an impressive start by taking five wickets in his first innings.
(ii) Over a career spanning more than two decades, Anderson represented England in 188 Test matches, 194 ODIs, and 19 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), amassing a total of 991 wickets across all formats. He retired from international cricket in July 2024 as the most successful Test seamer in history, with 704 wickets in Test matches alone.
(iii) James Anderson stands third on the all-time list for most Test wickets, behind Shane Warne of Australia (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (800). Despite his international retirement, he extended his cricketing journey by signing a one-year contract with Lancashire in January 2025 to continue playing in the domestic circuit.
____________________________
