According to The Independent - Main, James Anderson described feeling his chances of captaining Lancashire were over once he reached 40, but he started to lead the team part-way through last season. He turns 44 in July, reinforcing his status as the oldest fast bowler in Test cricket, with a record 700 Test wickets that surpasses Stuart Broad by 100. Stuart Broad is now in the commentary box, while Anderson will be opening the bowling at Wantage Road in Northampton this week.
Lancashire's captaincy has seen recent changes, with Keaton Jennings starting last season as captain before stepping down and Marcus Harris having a brief stint. The team's poor year led to Dale Benkenstein's departure as coach, and the only captain to lead Lancashire to the County Championship since 1950 was Glen Chapple, a veteran fast bowler. Anderson reinvented himself last summer and excelled in the Blast, and he got picked up for The Hundred last year but will not be returning to it.
Once I got to 40, I thought maybe it's gone.
According to The Independent - Main, Anderson described hating every minute of The Hundred last year and emphasized the importance of focusing on fitness for the four-day stuff as captain. He also noted the difficulty for a bowler, especially at 43, to play every game, with his heart saying 'definitely' but his head seeing it as a massive challenge. Specific fitness regimens to manage his age and workload, the number of games he plans to play this season, and who will replace Benkenstein as coach remain unknown, along with Lancashire's strategies for promotion from Division 2 and whether Anderson will continue playing for England in Tests.
The running side of it, maybe not trying to sprint, keep up with 17-year-old lads and just do what I need to do to be fit for a game.
It's so difficult for a bowler, let alone a 43-year-old bowler, to play every game of the summer. My heart is saying, ‘definitely’; my head's like, ‘it'll be a massive challenge’.
If I'm still captain by the end of the season, I think that'll be positive.
I think there are times throughout the winter where I maybe thought about what if we get promoted and we've got a chance to push for the championship next year. Would I want to be involved in that? And of course I would.
And then there are other times when I wake up and I struggle to walk to the toilet in the morning and think maybe I can't get another year out of my body.
I probably wouldn't have thought I'd be still playing at the age.
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.