11 degrees of separation - from James Anderson to the first ever Test match in 1877

We take a look at players who formed a link to the previous generation of Test cricketers stretching all the way back to the first match played in the 19th century

England great James Anderson made his final Test appearance against the West Indies at Lord's last week. He ended his two-decade long Test career that began at the same venue against Zimbabwe in 2003. Getty Images

James Anderson is presented with his 150th Test cap by former England captain Nasser Hussain in Centurion. Hussain was the captain when Anderson made his Test debut against Zimbabwe at Lord's in May 2003. Getty Images

Nasser Hussain made his England Test debut under the captaincy of the great Graham Gooch, above, against the West Indies in Jamaica in March 1990. It was a memorable match for England as they defeated a full strength Windies that had all-time greats. Ben Radford /Allsport

Former opener John Edrich, above, was part of the team when future batting great Graham Gooch made his Test debut in the first Ashes Test in Birmingham in July 1975. However, Gooch had a forgettable outing as he made a pair in an innings defeat. Allsport Hulton / Archive

When John Edrich made his debut against the West Indies in Manchester in June 1963, the great Freddie Trueman was present. One of the all-time greats of the game, 'Fiery Fred' was the ultimate fast bowler and also the first to take 300 Test wickets. Getty Images

Fred Trueman made his Test debut against India at Leeds in June 1952 under the captaincy of another all-time great England cricketer - Len Hutton. The Yorkshire batsman, above, is considered one of the finest batsmen the game has seen, and still holds the record for the highest Test score - 364 - by an Englishman. Getty Images

When Len Hutton began his Test career against New Zealand at Lord's all the way back in 1937, the legendary Wally Hammond, above, was one of the biggest names in the sport. Hammond is one of the greatest pillars of cricket, scoring more than 50,000 runs in first-class cricket. Getty Images

Ernest Tyldesley, above, was part of the England team when Wally Hammond made his England Test debut against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1927. Tyldesley scored a century as England won by 10 wickets. Colorsport / Shutterstock

England and Yorkshire great Wilfred Rhodes was part of the Ashes team in Nottingham in 1921 when Ernest Tyldesely began his Test career. Rhodes, above, had a truly remarkable career, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches. He scored close to 40,000 runs and took more than 4,000 wickets in 1,100 first-class matches. Getty Images

Wilfred Rhodes made his Test debut in the 19th century - against Australia in Nottingham in June 1899. That was the era of the first great cricketer - WG Grace, above. Getty Images

WG Grace played his first Test against Australia at the Oval in 1880. He scored 152 on debut. Among the members of the England team was Alfred Shaw, who featured in the first ever Test on record - in Melbourne in 1877. Shaw bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in an innings. Mildew Design Ltd / Shutterstock

England fast-bowling great James Anderson called time on his extraordinary Test career during the first match of the series against the West Indies at Lord's, finishing his journey at the Home of Cricket.

The 41 year old ended his career with 704 Test wickets in a 188-match career, numbers that will almost certainly never be matched.

The longevity and numbers of Anderson are truly remarkable. Very few players now even dream of playing Test cricket for two decades, while Anderson did that with great passion despite being a fast bowler.

He could have continued for a few more years, such is his fitness and dedication, but had to be urged to call it a day and allow England to blood the next generation of pacers.

And thus finished the career of a truly great Test cricketer. Anderson was the last link to an era that is behind us, where almost all teams had players who had played more than 100 Tests and had been around for 20-odd years.

His career takes us back to a period when Test cricket was still the benchmark for any aspiring cricketer and T20 cricket was just beginning to make an appearance. And if we dig a little deeper, we can go further back.

In the picture gallery above, we link Anderson to the previous generation of England Test cricketers, going back all the way to the first ever Test match between England and Australia in Melbourne in 1877. Each player in the gallery made his debut with a legend of the game from the preceding era.

To view the next image in the gallery, simply swipe or click on the arrows.