The 42-year-old still proving to be a threat in First-Class cricket
Age is just a number and James Anderson is a living proof of it. Having retired just two weeks before his 41st birthday, the legendary pacer is still thriving in county cricket.
Having signed an extension deal with Lancashire, 42-year-old Anderson bowled an absolute jaffa to Derbyshire’s Caleb Jewell and hit the top of his off-stump, showing he is still as lethal as ever.
Anderson hit his stride as usual and angled the ball into the left-handed Jewell who was ready to defend off his front foot. However, the ball straightened up and spit off the surface to leave the stumps in shambles.
Anderson’s peach also heaped more pressure on the County Championship Division Two table-toppers after his side amassed 458 runs in the first innings. Anderson also got rid off the second opener David Lloyd for a keeper catch.
At the end of the day, Derbyshire were left reeling at 112/4.
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Lancashire, meanwhile, are rooted to the bottom of the table and are yet to win a single game this season. They only have drawn four matches and lost one game. They have 52 points so far.
Batting first in the match, Lancashire were anchored by opener Luke Wells’ 141 while three batters in the middle order managed fifties to propel them to the big total.
Matty Hurst (51), George Bell (57) and George Balderson (73) scored bulk of the runs in the middle while Tom Hartley scored 42 runs.
Anderson has signed a new contract with Lancashire in early January to play T20 Blast and County Championship after retiring from international cricket last July. He had also taken up a coaching role with England for a short stint before registering for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction.
He also sat out of the April start to the tournament due to an ankle injury and returned to action for the seventh round.
Anderson retired as the highest wicket-taking fast bowler in history with 704 wickets from 188 Tests at an outstanding average of 26.
