James Anderson continued his stand-out start to the 2026 County Championship in Lancashire's fixture against Gloucestershire, taking a four-for in the second innings to put his side on course for victory.
James Anderson follows 14 wickets from first two games with seven more in third
Anderson, who was made captain of the red-ball side at the start of the season, had already taken 3-12 on day one before he bowled the defining spell of the match on day three. Gloucestershire trailed by 104 runs after the first innings, and Anderson removed Ollie Price lbw on the evening of day two, leaving them 75-3.
Lancashire's hopes were pegged back by a century from James Bracey the next day, while Miles Hammond contributed 82 to a fourth-wicket stand of 148. As Gloucestershire's lead neared 200 in the evening session and Lancashire's hopes of victory looked to be slipping away, Anderson struck with the wicket of Graeme van Buuren, trapped lbw. In his next over, he finally managed to dislodge Bracey, bowling him off a bottom edge, before following up the next ball by getting Henry Brookes caught behind.
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His two-over burst brought the game back into Lancashire's grasp, and Gloucestershire collapsed to 305 all-out, having lost their final five wickets for 11 runs.
Lancashire were set 202 to chase on the final day and, despite losing Harry Singh and Marcus Harris for ducks, by the end of the day they had reached 75-3.
Match 19, Gloucestershire vs Lancashire
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Anderson has had an electric start to the Championship, and is currently leading the wicket-taking charts. He has 21 wickets at 12.09 from his first three games of the season, having inspired Lancashire to a win last week with a devastating spell on the final day, and sealing the victory by effecting a run-out.
After he was retired by England at the start of the 2024 summer, Anderson committed to playing county cricket for Lancashire. He took 17 wickets in six games last season, and is set to turn 44 years old during this summer.
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