Brutal. That’s the only word that can be used to describe Lancashire’s decision to not offer James Anderson a new contract.
At 44, it’s a shock he has carried on so long. But two summers after he was similarly jettisoned by England – when he was told by coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key that the team had moved on – he did not appear in the mood to wave goodbye to his storied playing career.
Last season, despite Lancashire’s on-field woes, he still took 50 wickets at an average of 17.68. Even if his bowling had been worse, surely the value of Anderson as a resource and guide for the club’s younger players would have still been priceless?
It’s easy to see why Lancashire have decided to move on. Following a season where they lurched from bad to worse and finished second bottom of Division Two in the County Championship, a fresh start was needed.
They have overhauled the club since, with a new chief executive and director of cricket. The rebuild could be long and painful, yet it is still a shock that Anderson does not appear to be part of those plans.
It is too early to say whether this is the end for England’s greatest-ever bowler. Other counties will be interested in his services despite his advancing years. It is understood no firm decisions have been made by Anderson yet. But this does look like a significant moment.
It’s true that fairy-tale endings are rare in sport. Not many get to bow out as Stuart Broad did at The Oval in 2023, when Anderson’s long-time bowling partner and friend took the final Australian wicket with his last ball in professional cricket to level the Ashes at 2-2.
Yet it does feel that Anderson deserved better than this – receiving the news behind closed doors on a rain-soaked day in late October rather than going out on his own terms in front of his adoring fans.
Not only has he been tapped on the shoulder once by England in 2024 but again seemingly by his boyhood club.
Anderson has spoken passionately about his forced international retirement, insisting he felt able to carry on and was still good enough to take Test wickets. England cast him aside because they wanted to rebuild their attack ahead of the 2025-26 Ashes.
The logic was sound. Yet after a series in Australia characterised by seam-friendly conditions that were tailor-made for Anderson’s skillset, many believe England moved too early to sideline an all-time great. The 4-1 defeat Down Under only increased that feeling.
Now, a player for the ages has seemingly been told he isn’t wanted again. But speaking to the BBC in August, he certainly didn’t sound like a man who was ready to hang up his bowling boots.
“At the minute, I feel like I can still play,” he said. “In my head, I always said, I will finish when I don’t think I can perform anymore. But I’ve loved it.
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“I’ve been playing for my boyhood club which I went to support as a kid. We’ve got 17, 18-year-olds coming through, which I feel like I can offer advice to if they need it. We are a little bit in transition with that sort of thing, bringing young players through. I’d love to be able to do that.”
What Anderson does next remains up in the air. Yet whatever the future holds he will always be appreciated – and loved – by a generation of cricket fans who felt privileged to be able to watch one of the sport’s greatest practitioners of his art in the flesh.
Once the dust has settled, he might well decide to carry on his 26-year playing career elsewhere.
He surely won’t be short of offers. And if another county does persuade him to carry on, they’d be lucky to have him.