James Anderson has been named the full-time captain of Lancashire for the next edition of the County Championship. Interestingly, he will turn 44 years old next summer, even as he was interim captain as well during Lancashire's 2025 campaign, leading them in two matches. However, the veteran fast bowler has now been made their permanent captain in red-ball cricket.
Anderson replaces Keaton Jennings as captain, who stepped down from the role in May last year. Despite retiring from international cricket in July 2024 with a record 704 Test wickets to his name, the 43-year-old has showed no signs of retiring from domestic cricket. In last year's Championship campaign, Anderson picked up 17 wickets at an average of almost 26 in six matches.
"Captaining Lancashire for the first time last season was a huge privilege, and I'm honoured to take on the role full-time heading into the new season. We've got a fantastic group of players, a great blend of youth and experience, and I'm excited about what we can achieve together with promotion back to Division One our number one priority I'm grateful for the support from Crofty, and from my teammates, and I'm looking forward to leading the side into the new County Championship season in April," Anderson said after being appointed the skipper of the team.
Lancashire coach confident about Anderson's leadership
Lancashire head coach Steven Croft is confident of James Anderson's leadership abilities and believes that the team would perform better under his captaincy. "Jimmy is an outstanding leader whose influence on the squad is immense. His experience in cricket is second to none, and the way he stepped into the captaincy during the second half of last season showed exactly why he's the right person for the job," he said.
Lancashire will start their campaign in the County Championship next year on April 3 against Northamptonshire.
