Courtesy: Google
James Anderson, one of the greatest fast bowlers of all-time, has been named in the Lancashire squad for the County Championship Division Two match against Derbyshire, which will be played at Old Trafford from Friday, May 16 onwards. The 42-year-old, who had announced his retirement from international cricket last year, has recovered from a pre-season calf injury, which kept him out of the first five matches of the County Championship 2025 season for Lancashire.
Notably, the last professional match of James Anderson’s illustrious career was his 188th and final Test appearance of England at the Lord’s in London last July, in which he picked up four wickets and ended up on the winning side. Just weeks before that, he had taken part in his last County Championship match in Lancashire colours, taking eight wickets, including figures of 7/35 in the first innings against Nottinghamshire at Southport, but the contest ended in a draw.
Lancashire are in eighth and bottom place in the County Championship Division Two with no wins
After finishing his international career with 704 Test wickets, becoming the third highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game, James Anderson became the bowling consultant for England. Following that, he put his name in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction, but none of the teams in the league put their faith in the veteran, who hadn’t played professional T20 cricket for over a decade at the time.
Ahead of the 2025 English summer, James Anderson signed a deal to play for Lancashire, not only in the County Championship, but also the T20 Blast competition. But his return to competitive cricket was delayed just days before the first match of the County Championship Division Two for Lancashire due to suffering an unfortunate calf injury in the pre-season preparations.
Currently, Lancashire are in eighth and bottom place in the County Championship Division Two with no wins, four draws, and one loss in their five matches in the competition.
