\u201cIf it was up to me it wouldn\u2019t have ended like this, but I wish the players and fans all the best for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anderson made his Lancashire debut in 2001. He took 443 first-class wickets for the county in 112 appearances, plus 83 List A wickets in 61 matches and 50 T20 wickets in 40 appearances. His 50 wickets in the 2026 Championship at an average of 17.68 earned him Lancashire\u2019s Championship Player of the Year award. The county finished second-bottom in Division Two and exited both limited-overs competitions in the group stage.<\/p>\n
Paul Farbrace, Lancashire\u2019s incoming director of cricket, said he had told Anderson the club would not extend his contract after a meeting with the chief executive, Richard Kenyon, on 19 October. Farbrace said the club wanted to rebuild its squad to secure promotion and then challenge in Division One over the next three to four years. \u201cLancashire Cricket<\/a> can confirm that, following a remarkable 25-year association with the Red Rose, Sir James Anderson\u2019s playing career with the club will come to an end at the conclusion of his current contract,\u201d read a statement from the county.<\/p>\n The former England captain Nasser Hussain said Anderson\u2019s departure was \u201ca hugely sad way\u201d for the bowler to leave the club. \u201cI\u2019d say most counties in the country would take Anderson, even at the age of 44,\u201d he wrote for Sky Sports. \u201cI\u2019d rather not focus in on how it ended, both for England and for Lancashire \u2013 I\u2019d rather be thankful that we\u2019ve had 26 years of Anderson giving it all for England and Lancashire.\u201d<\/p>\n
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