Legendary England Pacer James Anderson proves that age is just a number. James Anderson is set to go beyond his 44th birthday after penning a new deal with Lancashire for the 2026 season.
Anderson, who will retire from international cricket in 2024, is signed for the 2025 county championship season, but his consistent brilliance has now earned him another year with Lancashire County Cricket Club.
James Anderson signs new deal with Lancashire
The new one-year deal marks the 25th year of Anderson’s professional career since his debut for Lancashire in 2001.
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The legendary England pacer takes 20 wickets for 20 wickets for Lancashire across the format showing consistent class and adaptability.
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These performances also earned him the first game in Anderson Franchise Cricket, which was one hundred percent Manchester Originals. Anderson, who is currently with Lancashire in the county championship, could go on to lead the county side in 2026.
The new deal is another chapter in his extraordinary journey. Earlier this year, Anderson was confirmed to be knighted for services to cricket in the coming weeks.
James Anderson focuses on County Cricket
Meanwhile, James Anderson ended his career with 704 wickets as he brought down the curtain on Lord’s Legendary Career 2024 after the first Test against the West Indians. He is third in the list of all-time Test bowlers, behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.
After retiring, Anderson briefly served as a bowling consultant with the England cricket team, but last summer withdrew from the role to focus entirely on Lancashire.
After his departure, New Zealand’s Tim Southe took over the role, but England’s 2025-26 stint in the looming Ashes remains uncertain due to his commitments.
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James Anderson is likely to return to the England coaching staff as Tim Southee’s availability remains uncertain
Meanwhile, England’s preparations for the 2025-26 tournament in Australia have suffered a setback with uncertainty over the availability of bowling consultant Tim Southee. The fast bowler, who joined England’s coaching staff in May as a specialist skills adviser across all formats, is expected to be available for the first Test only in Perth from November 21.
Southee’s limited-overs for England are due to scheduling conflicts with the upcoming ILT20, which begins on December 2 this year. Moving forward to avoid a clash with February’s ICC T20 World Cup, the early start of the ILT20 leaves little room to cope with the 2026 wind tour.
Southee’s short-term availability adds an extra layer of uncertainty to the team’s preparations ahead of the high-stakes Test series below. His absence could see the return of James Anderson as England’s Ashes consultant.
