England legend James Anderson was named in Lancashire's XI for their T20 Blast clash against Durham – his first T20 match in nearly 11 years.
James Anderson makes first T20 Blast appearance of the season
Anderson, who retired from Test cricket last year as the world's leading wicket-taker among pace bowlers, had signed a one-year contract with his county, Lancashire, for the Championship and the T20 Blast this season.
Match 16, Durham vs Lancashire
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International commitments have prevented him from playing regularly for Lancashire through the years, but he did make one appearance in the Championship in 2024, picking up 7-35. At the international level, Anderson last played an ODI in 2015 and a T20I in 2009, instead choosing to focus on Test cricket. Since retirement, he has served as a consultant for the England men's team.
Read more: James Anderson castles opener with away-decker three overs into Championship bowling return
Lancashire's first two matches of this Blast season saw them beat Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire by seven and 47 runs respectively, on May 29 and May 31 – even as the club continues to struggle in the Championship.
Anderson replacing Mitch Stanley was the only change to their team from the last game. Opening the bowling, Anderson dismissed Durham openers Alex Lees and Graham Clark in his first spell of three overs before returning to take the wicket of Colin Ackermann.
Anderson finished with figures of 3-17 from his four overs, his best T20 figures ever.
When was James Anderson's last T20 match?
This is Anderson's first appearance in the format since August 23, 2014. On that occasion, Anderson turned out for Lancashire against Warwickshire in the T20 Blast final, but endured a difficult outing as he went wicketless and conceded 52 runs in his four overs. Lancashire went on to lose the match by four runs.
Overall, Anderson has played 44 T20s, picking up 41 wickets at 32.14, and conceding at 8.47 runs per over. Lancashire and England are the only two teams he has represented. He did register himself for the IPL player auction ahead of the 2025 season, but fetched no bids.
Following his Test retirement, Anderson had told the Final Word podcast last August that he was indeed open to the possibility of playing more franchise T20 cricket: “There's plenty of things to think about and I just need to sit down and chat to people about it. I watch the Hundred and see the ball swinging around in the first 20 balls, and I think, 'I can do that. I can still do that.'
“I don't know if that is a viable option, to maybe see if I could do a job in white-ball cricket? Franchise cricket is something I've never done.”
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