Ten years after his last appearance in the format, recently retired James Anderson is eager to play franchise T20 cricket, potentially starting this winter.
Anderson, 42, retired from Test cricket last month after being invited to a meeting with the England management. The seamer, who picked up four wickets in his last game had admitted that he was bowling “as well as ever” but had little choice while making his decision with uncertainty over playing the next Ashes in the winter of 2025.
Currently, Anderson is the bowling mentor of the side until the end of the Sri Lanka Test series but he has also expressed his desire to dabble in franchise cricket for the first time. Anderson played 44 T20 games in his career and represented two teams, England and Lancashire.
Speaking on The Final Word podcast, Anderson admitted that watching the ball swinging in The Hundred has excited him. “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.”
He has also not kept playing domestic cricket off the table. “I still feel [playing domestically] is not off the table. The way that my body feels, the way I have been bowling in recent years, I still feel I could potentially have something to offer on that front,” he said.
James Anderson has had A LOT of new-ball partners over the years! 2️⃣5️⃣
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 10, 2024
Forget any of these? 🤔#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/lwHl5pL8KH
Anderson, who played 188 Tests, also believes he still has the skills to bowl at the England batters at the nets. “Bowling at the England lads in the nets, you have to have change-ups and slower balls. We constantly work it, so I don’t think [the skills and variations] will be an issue. But I don’t know how much people will want a 42-year-old bowler in their team so we’ll have to wait and see.”
‘It was Lord’s or never again’
Anderson also opened up about the incidents leading to his retirement. Coach Brendon McCullum, who flew over from New Zealand to inform him of the news, was joined by skipper Ben Stokes and the team director Rob Key. “[I was told] it was ‘Lord’s or never again’ and I decided I wanted to have one more go in England; I wanted my family and friends to see me play one more time.
“England felt it was a good time to look at other players and wanted to go in a different direction.
“I wouldn’t say I was happy,” he added. “But I didn’t kick off, I didn’t feel upset and having the opportunity to stay around the group in a different role interested me as well.”
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.
