‘Thank you for all these years of incredible inspiration and dramatic duels’ - Dale Steyn pays heartfelt tribute to James Anderson

On Friday, former cricketer Dale Steyn attended James Anderson’s final dance in international cricket during the  England vs West Indies Test. The duo dominated batters all across the globe and pushed each other to get better during most of the 2010s. They share a good camaraderie off the field, which propelled Steyn to pay a heartfelt tribute to Anderson after his final Test against West Indies.

After England’s innings and 114 runs win over the visitors at Lord’s, Anderson was emotional and so was Steyn. The former cricketer took to X to congratulate the pacer on his remarkable career and stated that it was tough for him to sum up Anderson’s career in a few words. The 41-year-old added that he was in attendance as he did not want to miss out on the opportunity to see Anderson bowl one last time.

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“Tough to sum up a man’s entire career in a few sentences. Bud, you have been fantastic. Thank you so much for all these years of incredible inspiration and dramatic duels we’ve had. I was there to watch today. Some things one just shouldn’t miss. Congratulations @jimmy9,” Steyn tweeted.

Check the tweet below:

Tough to sum up a man’s entire career in a few sentences.
Bud, you have been fantastic.
Thank you so much for all these years of incredible inspiration and dramatic duels we’ve had.
I was there to watch today. Some things one just shouldn’t miss.
Congratulations @jimmy9

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) July 12, 2024

In his final appearance for England, Anderson picked up four wickets. He finished with 704 Test wickets to his name, four behind the legendary Shane Warne, who has 708 dismissals to his name. Anderson sits third on the list of most wickets by a cricketer in Test cricket and is the only pacer to have taken more than 700 wickets in the longest format of the game.

Also Read - MCC President Mark Nicholas confers James Anderson with honorary lifetime membership

Meanwhile, the seamer has confirmed that he will be with the national team for the rest of the summer. Anderson had no intention of retiring but the team management advised him to do so, to develop the pace attack for Ashes 2025. Speaking about his future, the 41-year-old stated that he is not too sure if he would continue playing but Lancashire revealed that the door is always open for the Burnley pacer.