James Anderson's dismissal of Mohammed Shami in the final hour was his 564th Test wicket, moving him past the great Australian, Glenn McGrath. Anderson now has the most Test wickets by any fast-bowler in the history of the game.
As one England great retires from the Test arena here at The Oval, another remains, at least for now, very much in the thick of things. This match will be remembered for Alastair Cook's hundred in his final Test innings. But it also saw another important and dramatic milestone.
The achievement will trigger debate about who is the better of the two. But it's all largely pointless: how do you compare McGrath and Anderson when they are two very different bowlers who operated in contrasting conditions and with contrasting methods? How can you compare Malcolm Marshall and McGrath? Or Anderson and Courtney Walsh? Whether he is better or worse than any other fast-bowler to have played the game is, frankly, a moot point.
What is clear is that Anderson has been - and still is - a Test great. You can't take that many wickets and not be, and in numbers terms at least he is the best to have ever played the game. However many wickets he ends up with - and it's likely he will pass 600 - it may never be beaten by another quick. His place in the game's history is assured.
There will be a grim pocket that will peddle the line that Anderson is a hometown bully. But the stats tell a different story.
Anderson's overall away record reads 196 wickets at 32.62 compared to 368 wickets at 23 at home. But in the last eight years, he averages 28.86 away from England. In Australia in 2010/11, he took 24 wickets and in 2012, when England won in India, MS Dhoni proclaimed him the difference between the sides. In last winter's Ashes, he took 17 wickets at 27 despite England taking a 4-0 pummelling. This is no one-trick pony.
Neither has there been a discernible drop-off in his performances as his career nears its end. If anything, Anderson is getting better with age. Since the start of 2017, he has taken 97 wickets in 21 Tests at an average of less than 19 with an economy rate of 2.38. For a 36-year-old fast-bowler, those are quite incredible statistics.
His longevity has been something to behold. Over the course of a 15-year career, this is his 143rd Test match and he has so far delivered more than 5,200 overs at Test level. No other quick bowler has bowled more Test match deliveries. Fast-bowling takes more from the body than any other discipline and the fact that Anderson is able to still run in without bits of him falling off is a staggering testament to his fitness, stamina and mental resilience.
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