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England’s legendary pacer James Anderson made a shocking revelation ahead of his return to action in the upcoming season of County cricket. Anderson, who made his The Hundred debut last season for Manchester Originals, says that he hated ‘every minute’ of it. The Lancashire pacer is back to focusing on red-ball cricket.
"It was a mixture of hating every minute of The Hundred last year, if I can say that, and especially being captain this year, I think it's really important that I focus on being as fit as I can be for the four-day stuff," Anderson told The Independent.
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No to The Hundred, yes to T20 Blast
Anderson played T20 cricket/The Hundred after a long absence from the format as he retired from international cricket. He played just three games, claiming two wickets before an injury ruled him out of the season. For the 2026 edition, he did not register for the auction as he has other plans. However, he intends to play in the T20 Blast.
"I want to play in the Blast as well again," said Anderson on why he didn’t put his name in the auction. “I loved every minute of it last year. But, against, I wasn't playing every game. We've got a good squad that we can that we can rotate a little bit. When The Hundred's on, I'm hopefully going to be on holiday somewhere."
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Anderson set for return
The last time Anderson played a competitive game was in September 2025. He had registered for the SA20 auction but was unpicked.
Anderson is all set to play his 27th season for Lancashire. Last year, he signed a one-year deal with the county. He will be turning 44 during this season.
Lancashire will begin their campaign away from home against Northamptonshire on April 3.
Anderson chasing milestone
Anderson is seven wickets away from becoming fourth Lancashire bowler to take 400 wickets in County cricket. From 101 games, he has 393 wickets at an average of 21.52, featuring 22 fifers. Other bowlers who have achieved the feat are -- Glen Chapple (706 wickets), Gary Keedy (521 wickets) and, Tom Bailey (423 wickets).
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