England cricket lauds their 'Swing King'

England swing king James Anderson has drawn enthusiastic congratulations from the British cricket fraternity after surpassing Sir Ian Botham’s national record of 383 Test wickets on day five of the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua.

Quick Single: Holder, West Indies frustrate England

Anderson edged out the stubborn Dinesh Ramdin during the evening session, breaking what was a 105-run partnership and giving the tourists hope of an unlikely victory.

The fairy-tale finish wasn’t to be however, with an unbeaten century from 23-year-old Jason Holder seeing the West Indies safely to stumps to ensure the draw.

Jason Holder's century was enough for the West Indies

It was a tough day at the office for Anderson, with the Sir Viv Richards Stadium pitch offering little assistance for the fast bowlers - his delivery to remove Ramdin a rare moment of encouragement.

Botham’s Test record stood for nearly 30 years and the former allrounder was the first to congratulate the new record holder on the achievement.

'It has been a privilege to watch him close up all these years and commentate on a career that I believe still has a few more miles in the tank,” Botham said at the end of play.

“I expect him to pass 400 now and set an English record for the ages.

“I'm glad I was here in Antigua to watch him do it. I'll be sharing a glass with him at some point and having a chat about his fantastic achievement.”

Writing in the UK’s Telegraph, former Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan described the 32-year-old as the most skilled bowler he had seen in England colours.

“He started off as a quick swing bowler, very nippy, and turned out to be a medium quick with the most skill I have ever seen in an England bowler,” Vaughan wrote.

“I did not see Fred Trueman bowl but of the players I have seen for England, Jimmy has the most skill by a mile.”

Another former skipper Michael Atherton was at the ground and made note of the Anderson entourage seated amongst the crowd.

“High in the Sir Andy Roberts Stand, sat his parents, aunt, uncle, wife and daughters — a proud clan,” Atherton wrote in The Times.

“They had waited for four days, forced to by a pitch not exactly prepared with Anderson in mind, but they now bathed in the warm glow of their man’s achievement.”

Retired England spinner and frequent co-conspirator Graeme Swann recalled the moment he realised Anderson would become one of the greats.

"I've never seen a bowler look more dangerous in any game of cricket than Jimmy did against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 2010,” Swann told BBC Test Match Special.

“He took 11 for about 50, bowling fast and swinging it both ways. We were getting loads of catches in the slips - we had about seven of them at one point.

"That was Jimmy at his absolute finest. He was our match-winner, the best swing bowler in the world.”