England Clinch Test Series Against Pakistan 1-0 After Anderson Picks 600th Wicket In Drawn Southampton Test

The draw against Pakistan in the third Test at Southampton also gave England their first Test series win at home against Pakistan since 2010. The hosts won their second straight Test series at home as they had beaten Jason Holder-led West Indies prior to defeating Pakistan 1-0.

England clinched the 3-match Test series against Pakistan 1-0 after the rain hit third and final Test between the nations ended in a dead draw on Wednesday at Southampton. James Anderson breaking the herculean 600th wicket mark in Test cricket headlined the fifth and final day of the third Test which otherwise was mared by spells of rain. Anderson's five wicket haul (5-56) in Pakistan's first innings and a record breaking 359-run fifth wicket partnership between Jos Buttler and opener Zak Crawley were the major contributor's in taking away the third Test from Pakistan's reach and the match ending in a stalemate. The draw against Pakistan in the third Test at Southampton also gave England their first Test series win at home against Pakistan since 2010. The hosts won their second straight Test series at home as they had beaten Jason Holder-led West Indies prior to defeating the Pakistani's 1-0. England took a 1-0 lead in the series after winning the opening Test at Manchester by three wickets while both the second and the third played at the Ageas Oval in Southampton ended in draws. Pakistan were on 187/4 when the players shook hands after the umpires called it a day and the match ended in a tame draw. Anderson walked off to warm applause from his team mates and opponents. While Anderson hogged the limelight with his 600th wicket milestone, Babar Azam top scored with an unbeaten 63 for the visitors and openers Abid Ali (42) and skipper Azhar Ali (31) also chipped in with meaningful contributions. Anderson, the 38-year-old veteran speedster scripted history as he became the first fast bowler and the fourth bowler overall to take 600 wickets in Test cricket after he dismissed Pakistan captain Azhar Ali. Azhar, who had scored an unbeaten 141 in Pakistan's first innings, was surprised by the bounce that Anderson generated as the ball ended up deflecting off the shoulder of his bat to England captain Joe Root at the lone slip position.Root pocketed the ball despite it coming at a good pace at him. With the first two sessions of the day were washed out due to incessant rain, the possibility of Anderson being denied a chance to scale the milestone looked rather strong.Stranded on 599 wickets for a major part of the day, Anderson eventually got to the milestone after scalping the Pakistani skipper Azhar Ali to claim his 600th Test wicket. Brief scores: England 583/8d vs Pakistan 273 & 187/4 (Babar 63*, Abid 42; Anderson 2/45)