England Test legend James Anderson recorded his third-best T20 career figures with yet another three-wicket haul for Lancashire during their T20 Blast 2025 match against Northamptonshire at Manchester on Sunday (June 8).
After calling time on his illustrious career that lasted for 22 years, Anderson signed up for a one-year county contract for Lancashire. Returning to play his first T20 in 11 years, he didn’t take time to get going, recording his career-best figures in the format. His 3-17 in four overs helped Lancashire to a four-wicket win against Durham.
Just three days after his comeback performance, Anderson starred with the ball again, though this time he ended on the losing side. Bowling first, Lancashire’s first breakthrough came from him when he dismissed Matthew Breetzke for nine. He then removed a fluent Ricardo Vasconcelos, who had raced to 32 off just 15 balls.
Returning for another spell, Anderson claimed the wicket of a set Ravi Bopara (28 off 22), finishing with 3-31. Despite his efforts, Northants posted 180-6 in 20 overs. Lancashire, in response, lost half of their side for 88 runs in 10.5 overs. Michael Jones (32 off 31) tried to consolidate the innings, but it wasn't enough as the chasing team fell short by 24 runs.
🧙♂️ @jimmy9
— Lancashire Lightning (@lancscricket) June 8, 2025
LIVE on #LancsTV! 📲➡️ https://t.co/dZPCnyfzPG
⚡️ #StrikeTogether https://t.co/uxmriiUMnv pic.twitter.com/Zg06VBZR0f
With the win, Northants have now won all five of their matches, topping the North Group. Second-placed Lancashire trail behind with three wins, while Leicestershire, in third, also have three victories but lag due to an inferior net run-rate (-0.800 compared to Lancashire’s +0.146).
These were Anderson’s third-best figures in T20 cricket, behind only his 3-23 for England against the Netherlands in the 2009 T20 World Cup and his 3-17 against Durham at Chester-le-Street earlier this year. Overall, he has now taken two or more wickets in a T20 innings 12 times.
Jennings full of praise for Anderson’s stellar performance
Despite the loss, Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings praised Anderson for seamlessly adapting to T20 cricket after a long absence from the format.
"(What he’s doing), he's ridiculous. He's bowling three overs in the power play, and that kind of goes against the grain. Most guys have a maximum of two generally. You don't want somebody to line you up. He's reading batters," said Jennings. "He's somehow moved with the times of T20 cricket without playing a game. I suppose that shows the level of care he's taken in his own cricket, in his own preparation.
"Going nice and quick, controlling areas, watching batters, following them, going wider when it's needed. The clarity of thought, when he does sort of mis-execute, hasn't – unsurprisingly – rattled him. He's straight back to what he needs to execute in the next ball.
"You have a guy like that in and around your dressing room and it's pretty silly not to pick his brain and pick his wealth of expertise. As captain you fight yourself a little bit. But also, I think you've got to watch the sort of flow of the game. And if he looks hard to hit, you keep him on. Jimmy's executed brilliantly well. Hopefully it long continues."
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
