The England pacer James Anderson is unlikely to play for his franchise Lancashire in the ongoing County Championship 2024 before June.
James Anderson unlikely to Play in County Championship
James Anderson will be missing a few matches in the County Championship before June as he looks forward to managing his workload before England’s Tests against West Indies and Sri Lanka in the summer.
Anderson has played four Championship games for Lancashire in each of the last three years. England’s home test season starts around six weeks later than usual this summer.
“With the Tests being in July, it’s tricky,” said Anderson during Prime Minister Rishi Sanuk’s investment announcement for Grassroots cricket. “It’ll probably be June before I play, or maybe the end of May.”
Anderson had lunch with Nathan Lyon and expressed his desire to play alongside his Ashes rival. “It was nice to actually have a civil conversation with him,” said Anderson.
“I think he plays seven out 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 games before the start of the T20 Blast in May. They have two more fixtures starting on June 23 and June 30 which Anderson may target before the first test against West Indies.
Most of England’s Test regulars are due to play in five out of the first seven championship games. Durham chief executive Tim Bostock estimates that Ben Stokes will play in three fixtures for Durham before the first test after withdrawing from the T20 World Cup.
Jack Leach will undergo surgery as he sustained a knee injury on England’s tour of India last month. He will not be playing for Somerset until May. “Somerset is likely to be without Jack Leach until early May as he continues his rehabilitation back to full fitness,” the club said in a statement on Thursday.
Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive suggested that participation of many England players at the start of the season will be a real boost.
“Aside from the IPL, we can all focus on first-class, red-ball Championship for April and May, and that’s a good thing,” Gould said.
Leicestershire and Sussex will be playing in the 11th match of the County Championship on April 12 at Sophia Gardens.
