2026-04-03 09:32:04
Sir James Anderson has days where he doesn’t think he can “get another year” of cricket in.
The 43-year-old cricketer is hoping to lead Lancashire back to Division One after being appointed captain and while he is largely optimistic about staying involved with the team if they do go up, there are times when he worries he will no longer be fit enough.
He told the Independent: “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.”
James admitted he never expected to still be playing well into his 40s.
He said: “I probably wouldn’t have thought I’d be still playing at the age.
“It was five minutes since I was signing Lancashire at 18.”
The cricketer is very proud to have been given the captaincy after 25 years turning out for Lancashire.
He said: “A huge honour. It’s such a prestigious club, with a lot of history, so to be a captain of the four-day side is a very proud thing for me.”
And while he has played under several England captains over the years, James won’t be looking to emulate anyone else’s leadership style.
He said: “I wouldn’t say I’m modelling myself on anyone, no.
“I feel fortunate I’ve played under a lot of captains, both here and with England. I feel like I grew into a leader in the England team throughout towards the back end of my career as well. So I think having gathered all that information throughout my career, then I am trying to just be the captain that I think I want to be.
“I want the team to get promoted this year. I want all the players to have fun doing it. Remember why we started playing cricket because we love the game.
“So to try and bring guys back to, ‘it’s not just a job, it’s something that we love doing’.”
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