James Anderson, the 44-year-old bowler, will not receive a new contract from Lancashire, the BBC has confirmed. The club has decided not to extend its partnership with one of the most experienced players in the history of English cricket, despite his recent performances.
Anderson chose to continue playing for Lancashire after England forced his international retirement in 2024. Last season, he was captain of Lancashire in the County Championship, and the club finished second-to-last in Division Two. As first reported by the Times, Anderson will not be given the opportunity to play at Old Trafford in 2027, when he will turn 45. It is not known whether he will retire or attempt to extend his 26-year professional career with another county.
Anderson first played top-level cricket as a 17-year-old for the Lancashire Cricket Board in 2000, and debuted for Lancashire the following year. Lancashire is undergoing a review of its cricket operations led by interim chair Dame Sarah Storey and new chief executive Richard Kenyon. Paul Farbrace was appointed director of cricket at Lancashire earlier this month.
In the 2026 County Championship, Anderson took 50 wickets, with only six other bowlers in Division Two having a better record. He was named Lancashire's player of the year in the Championship. Of his 1,193 first-class wickets, he took 443 for Lancashire, along with 83 List A wickets and 50 T20 wickets.
In a 23-year international career, Anderson took 991 wickets in all formats for England. Only spinners Muttiah Muralitharan from Sri Lanka and Australian Shane Warne have more in international cricket. Anderson became the third bowler in Test history, after Muralitharan and Warne, to reach 700 wickets in 2024. He is third on the all-time list with 704 wickets, which is a record for a fast bowler.
England's then coaching hierarchy of Brendon McCullum, captain Ben Stokes and cricket director Rob Key asked him to end his international career. Anderson played his 188th and final Test against the West Indies at Lord's, after which he had a brief period as a bowling advisor for England. In 2025, he signed a new contract with Lancashire and suggested he might play county cricket for another three seasons. In April 2025, he was knighted for services to cricket.
Anderson was interim captain of Lancashire during the 2025 season, and for 2026 he was given the full-time captaincy role. He was considered to be enjoying that role. There were no signs at the end of this summer that he would end his career. On Wednesday, as reports emerged about his departure from Old Trafford, those close to Anderson were unaware of the situation. Lancashire has not commented.
