CRICKET: James Anderson says he has no plans to retire yet after overtaking Glenn McGrath to become the highest fast bowling wickettaker in Test history as the Australian challenged the Englishman to reach 600 wickets.
Anderson went past McGrath’s tally of 563 wickets while playing India at the Oval this week.
The Lancashire swing bowler, with 564 wickets, now trails just the spin trio of Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800 wickets), Australia’s Shane Warne (708) and India’s Anil Kumble (619) on the all-time list.
“When I sit down at the end of my career, when I finish, it will mean a hell of a lot to me to be able to see what I’ve achieved,” he said.
“But right now it’s hard when you put all your energy into the present and trying to perform well for England. That’s all I really focus on.”
McGrath congratulated Anderson but urged him to go on and reach the 600 mark.
“If he can raise the bar to 600 wickets, that’s an incredible effort,” McGrath told BBC radio.
NRL: Gold Coast boss Graham Annesley has warned Tyrone Peachey faces three years on the sidelines if the NSW Origin ace backflips* on his $1.5 million Titans deal.
The Peachey contract saga* took a dramatic twist yesterday when the Titans were rocked by claims the Panthers star had instructed his manager he wants to stay at Penrith for family reasons.
“We’ve just built (a house) in Penrith and the missus (his wife) is real comfortable in that place,” Peachey said. “I spoke to my manager and told him what I want to happen.”
However, Titans CEO Graham Annesley said the club won’t release Peachey and expect him to honour his deal.
“The situation from our point of view is very simple,” Annesley said.“Tyrone signed a legally binding contract which we expect him to honour.”
GLOSSARY
backflips: change of mind
saga: drama
honour: stick to an agreement
QUICK QUIZ
1. Where does James Anderson sit on the list of all-time Test wickettakers?
2. How much is Tyrone Peachey’s Titans contract worth?
VCOP ACTIVITY
After reading the article, with a partner, highlight as many wow words or ambitious pieces of vocabulary that you can find in yellow. Discuss the meanings of these words and see if you can use them orally in another sentence.
