Buckingham palace

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: England's record wicket-taker in Test cricket, James Anderson has been given the knighthood in former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's resignation honours list and was the only sportsperson to be given the award. Anderson was previously awarded with an OBE medal by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace back in 2016.

Anderson retired from international cricket following England's emphatic innings and 114 runs win against West Indies in the first Test at Lord's in July, 2024 where he scalped four wickets across two innings. His decision to retire from international duty came after England coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes decided they wanted to build an attack for the future.

The 41-year-old closed his red-ball career with 704 wickets for England. He retired from the format as the highest wicket-taker as a fast bowler and is the third-highest wicket-taker overall after Muttiah Muralidaran (800) of Sri Lanka and Australia's Shane Warne (708) in Test cricket.