James Anderson ‘unlikely’ to play for Lancashire: The England pacer wants to handle the workload before the West Indies Test in July.
James Anderson ‘unlikely’ to play for Lancashire: James Anderson is unlikely to play for Lancashire in the County Championship before June as he manages his workload ahead of England’s Tests against the West Indies and Sri Lanka in the second half of the summer.
Anderson has played four Championship matches for Lancashire in the last three years. But England’s home Test season will start almost six weeks later than usual this summer, against the West Indies on July 10, due to World Twenty20 scheduling conflicts.
“Tests in July, it’s tough,” Anderson said at the Oval. “It will probably be the end of June or May before I play.”
Nathan Lyon, Lancashire’s new overseas signing, had lunch with Anderson on his first full day in the country and expressed his desire to play against their Ashes rivals. “I think he’s played seven of the first nine games, so hopefully I’ll play one or two [with him], either at the end of May or in June,” Anderson said.
Lancashire will play seven Championship matches before the T20 Blast begins in May. They then have two more matches on June 23 (Canterbury v Kent) and June 30 (Southport v Nottinghamshire) that Anderson can target before the first Test against the West Indies.
Most Tests in England are regularly played in five of the first seven Championship games of their respective counties, although the schedule varies by player. Durham chief executive Tim Bostock has estimated that Ben Stokes will play “three or four” Championship fixtures for Durham ahead of the first Test after withdrawing from the World Twenty20.
Jack Leach, who recently underwent surgery after injuring his knee during England’s tour of India, is not expected to feature in the first month of the season.
James Anderson ‘unlikely’ to play for Lancashire
James Anderson ‘unlikely’ to play for Lancashire: ECB chief executive Richard Gould believes having so many England players at the start of the season is a “real boost” to the status of county cricket. “Without the IPL, we can all focus on the first-class, red-ball championships in April and May and that’s a good thing,” Gould said.