West Indies' Guard of Honor for Anderson Thwarted by Jubilant Run Out

The West Indies' plan to honor England's legendary fast bowler James Anderson with a guard of honor was disrupted by an unexpected moment of jubilation on day two of the first Test at Lord's.

Anderson, who has taken a record-breaking 703 Test wickets, was playing his 188th and final Test for England. It is customary for the fielding team to form a guard of honor when a prominent opposition player is batting for the last time in a Test match.

However, just before the 41-year-old Anderson walked out to a standing ovation from the packed crowd at Lord's, Mikyle Louis executed a brilliant run out to dismiss Shoaib Bashir, triggering exuberant celebrations among the West Indies players.

As a result, when Anderson emerged from the pavilion, only former West Indies skipper Jason Holder was present to greet him with a handshake.

"We spoke about it before he came out to bat, that we were going to give him a guard of honor," West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales said. "Obviously the run out took us all the way down to Swiss Cottage, so it was pretty hard to do the guard of honor for the great man. Luckily, Jason caught up with him."

However, Anderson had to return to the dressing room without even facing a ball as debutant Jamie Smith (70) was dismissed as the last England wicket to fall.

"I think the biggest missed opportunity was not seeing Jimmy face one off their left-arm spinner," Smith said. "That's the one regret about my innings. I'm a bit disappointed I couldn't hit one more six to allow him his moment. It's been an honor to play alongside him in my first game. Everyone will miss him when he goes."

Anderson, England captain Ben Stokes, and newcomer Gus Atkinson each claimed two wickets as the West Indies crumbled to 79 for 6 by the end of play on Thursday. This followed their dismal first-innings total of 121 in the opening match of the three-Test series.

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