by 
James Anderson is in talks with Lancashire to resume his playing career this summer – when he turns 43 – almost a year after his last competitive match.
Anderson has not played since his farewell Test at Lord’s against the West Indies in July last year, but Telegraph sport understands he will make himself available for all Lancashire formats in a bid to extend his illustrious career.
He kept his body in shape by playing in the nets in his role as coach of the England Test team and worked hard on his fitness with the team’s strength and conditioning coaches on tours in Pakistan and New Zealand before Christmas. He is confident he can pick up where he left off last year and play for Lancashire when the season begins in April.
It would give Anderson the opportunity to bid farewell to the club he joined as a teenager, although if all goes well he could consider extending his career for longer. Anderson will attempt to combine the game with his duties as bowling coach with the England Test team and various media commitments.
Sir Alastair Cook played five seasons for Essex following his retirement from Test cricket in 2018, only ending his playing career at the end of the 2023 season. Anderson’s England career came to an abrupt end in early last summer when management decided to move on and told him he was no longer part of their plans. He got a farewell Test at Lord’s where he took his career wicket tally to 704, third behind Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.
Anderson himself felt he could go on and in his autobiography, released last year, he compared meeting Rob Key, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes to an execution scene in the gangster film. The Freedmen.
Anderson signaled his intention to continue his career when he went to the IPL auction in January, despite not having played Twenty20 cricket since 2014. He was not sold at the auction.
It’s his love of cricket that keeps Anderson going and he wants to maximize his playing days for as long as he can. He has also not ruled out playing white-ball cricket again. He hasn’t played T20 in over a decade and last bowled 50 overs in 2019 but it was red-ball County Championship cricket, bowling the Dukes’ ball, that Anderson remains the master and he will boost the county game, both from a Lancashire prospect and by giving the young batsmen on the tour a chance to take on one of the sport’s greatest.
England will not play any more Test cricket until a one-off match with Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge at the end of May. Anderson is not part of the ECB staff and is hired series by series, which allows him to be free on his schedule.
Anderson will be available to play at least five rounds of the Championship before England meet for the summer Test. Lancashire were relegated from the First Division last year and will view Anderson as a key part in trying to regain their top-flight status.
Because he is no longer centrally contracted, Lancashire are expected to pay his wages for the first time in 20 years, but are unlikely to turn down the opportunity to pick England’s highest wicket-taker.
Lancashire begin their Championship season at Lord’s on April 4, giving Anderson the opportunity to return to the scene of his England farewell before a home opener at Old Trafford against Northants starting on April 11.
