Former England fast bowler James Anderson has been awarded a knighthood in ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's resignation honours list, a just reward for a player who lived and breathed cricket.
Anderson retired from Test cricket in July 2024 having taken 704 wickets, the most by a fast bowler in the history of the five-day format.
Only spin bowling stars Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) took more Test wickets than Anderson
The resignation honours list is a tradition that allows outgoing Prime Ministers to nominate people for honours.
Born in Burnley Lancashire, Anderson made his one-day international debut for England against Australia in December 2002 with his first Test match coming in May 2003.
Anderson finished his international career having played 188 Test Matches and 194 One Day Internationals.
He was unwittingly forced into international retirement last year by England captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, who felt they should diversity their bowling options for the future, with Anderson over 40 years old.
He has signed a one-year deal with Lancashire for the County Championship and Vitality Blast, saying: "I am not ruling out playing for another one, two or three years. We'll see how it goes."
"I could get a month in and think 'absolutely not,' but I could have a great year, we could win everything, and they might want to keep me next year, so we'll just have to wait and see," he added.
For several years, Anderson built a formidable attacking lineup with fellow fast bowler Stuart Broad, the two dominating the England bowling ranks for over a decade together.