Atkinson blows West Indies away to boost England's regeneration

Like those hippy wigs in Woolworths mentioned at the end of Withnail and I, they were selling limited edition Jimmy Anderson last Test merchandise on day one at Lord's.

- Ali Martin

The greatest two and a bit decades of English seam bowling in history are nearly over, man, and for a mere £60 punters could get their hands on a commemorative hoodie.

How long Anderson's grand farewell lasts may hinge on the weather in St John's Wood over the coming days, England having dominated the early exchanges against West Indies. They also did so in a manner that lent weight to the decision by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum to reboot the Test side this summer, with the newcomer Gus Atkinson bursting out of his cellophane wrapping to take seven sparkling wickets.

Sideways glances might have followed had Anderson dominated proceedings at the start of this 188th and final Test. Although the 41-year-old was not exactly sidelined. His greatest hits featured regularly on the big screen and his 701st Test wicket put a full stop on a rather sorry 121 all out from the tourists. His daughters, Lola and Ruby, ringing the bell at the Bowlers' Bar before play was a lovely moment, Anderson cracking a proud smile out in the middle that just about prevented a tear from forming.

But 21 years since one shy, undemonstrative fast bowler announced himself to the world with a place on the Lord's honours board, another cut from the same cloth repeated the trick. Atkinson, a smidgeon older than that early days Anderson at 26, claimed the third-best figures by an England men's Test debutant - seven for 45 from 12 overs-with the slippery wicket-to-wicket nip that trumped just 19 first-class games for Surrey.