Tag: Lancashire

England great James Anderson is set to take on a new leadership role next summer after being appointed a full-time captain by Lancashire for the 2026 County Championship.

The 43-year-old pacer, who turns 44 during the season, takes over the four-day captaincy following Keaton Jennings’ resignation last year.

Anderson had already stepped in as interim skipper on two occasions during Lancashire’s 2025 campaign and will now lead the side permanently in red-ball cricket.

Despite calling time on his illustrious Test career in July 2024, finishing as England’s all-time leading wicket-taker with 704 Test scalps, Anderson has shown no intention of slowing down at the county level.

The fast bowler, who began his Lancashire journey as a teenager in 2002, remains an integral part of the squad and claimed 17 first-class wickets at an average of 25.94 in six Championship appearances last season.

Jennings will continue to lead Lancashire in the Vitality Blast, a format in which Anderson enjoyed an outstanding 2025 campaign, taking 20 wickets at 16.10 as the club reached Finals Day.

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Josh Bohannon will remain vice-captain, a role he has held since 2024.

“Captaining Lancashire for the first time last season was a huge privilege, and I’m honoured to take on the role full-time heading into the new season,” James Anderson said.

“We’ve got a fantastic group of players, with a great blend of youth and experience. Promotion back to Division One is our number one priority.”

Lancashire’s appointment comes after a turbulent Championship season in 2025, which resulted in major changes behind the scenes.

Head coach Dale Benkenstein departed following the club’s failure to mount a serious promotion push, with former Lancashire all-rounder Steven Croft stepping in as head coach.

Lancashire will begin their County Championship campaign away to Northamptonshire on April 3, before returning to Emirates Old Trafford to face Derbyshire the following week.

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Andrew Flintoff has revealed his pride at seeing ‘Field of Dreams’ protege Adnan Miakhel, a refugee from Afghanistan, make his first appearance for Lancashire second team.

The former England cricket captain, who made his name in cricket as a hugely talented all-rounder while playing for Lancashire, his native county, has been back in the public eye lately following the release of a new documentary detailing the painful recovery from his life-changing car crash.

The programme sees Flintoff speak about how returning from show business to cricket has helped him gain fresh meaning in life.

Miakhel’s appearance in a three-day friendly against Yorkshire—the traditional arch-rivals of northwest county Lancashire—unites the worlds of entertainment and sport.

The Afghan refugee was the breakout star of Flintoff’s television reality show about a scratch team of would-be cricketers based in Preston, Lancashire, and was awarded asylum in the United Kingdom after his mentor wrote to the Home Office (Britain’s interior ministry) supporting his application.

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Andrew Flintoff, reflecting on Miakhel’s elevation from Lancashire’s Under-18s last season to the second string this year, posted on X: “Some journeys are longer and harder, I’m so proud of this fine young man.”

Adnan Miakhel scored 25 not out batting at number 10 in the first innings and dismissed first-teamers Jonny Tattersall and Matt Revis as he claimed figures of 2-72 from 13 overs.

The game at Liverpool’s Northern Cricket Club is a friendly match which does not restrict teams to the usual standard 11 players, and Miakhel is not listed to bat in the second innings.

Rossall School, which awarded Miakhel a scholarship, paid its own tribute, adding on X: “Amazing to see current Y13 and 1XI (first team) cricket Captain Adnan M being presented with his 2XI (2nd XI) cap as he made his debut against Yorkshire.

“It is fantastic to see all of the hard work Adnan has put in paying off and we wish him all the success in the future with @lancscricket,” added the message from Rossall, whose former pupils include Liam Botham, the son of England cricket great Ian Botham, who also played cricket and both codes of rugby at a professional level in his own right.

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MANCHESTER: England’s legendary pacer James Anderson presented his Pakistani counterpart Hasan Ali with a Lancashire County Cap, ahead of their Division 1 fixture of the ongoing County Championship, here on Friday.

Hasan’s county team Lancashire County Cricket Club bid farewell to the right-arm pacer as the Pakistani speedster may leave the squad and travel back to Pakistan if he gets selected in the ODI squad of the upcoming home series against West Indies, scheduled next month.

Hasan, who is currently the leading wicket-taker, has been rewarded for his outstanding performance when the veteran pacer praised him on behalf of the players and the club and also presented him with the county cap.

🧢 “You’ve made a huge impact, we’d love to have you back!” 🇵🇰👏@jimmy9 🤝 @RealHa55an

🌹 #RedRoseTogether pic.twitter.com/3lFWqLYe6o

— Lancashire Cricket (@lancscricket) May 19, 2022

 

“On behalf of the players, Hasan. I just want to say thank you for your efforts. As Chilly said, you’ve not been here for long, but you’ve had a huge impact and put [on] some match-winning performances,” Anderson said ahead of presenting the cap to Hasan.

“I know this is your last week, so let’s go out on a high, send you off with a win, some more wickets, hopefully,” Anderson added.

Anderson again thanked Hasan, on behalf of their team while also expressing his hope to have the Pakistani speedster in the team again.

“But I really hope again, on behalf of the players and the club, I hope this isn’t the last we see of you, we’d love to have you back in the future,” Anderson concluded.

It is apropos to mention here that Hasan is likely to travel back after his side Lancashire’s ongoing fixture against Essex as he may get a national call up to represent Pakistan against West Indies in the home ODI series.

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