Prior to the 2026 County Championship season, Lancashire has announced a change in leadership, designating James Anderson as their red-ball team’s full-time captain. Even after retiring from international cricket in 2024, the renowned seamer’s longstanding bond with the Red Rose now includes him taking on the leadership role. James Anderson, who is starting his 44th year, will try to lead Lancashire back to Division One.
The appointment follows Lancashire’s difficult 2025 season, in which the club’s structure underwent significant adjustments as a result of a lacklustre Championship campaign. Following the underwhelming performances, head coach Dale Benkenstein also left the team, and Keaton Jennings resigned from the four-day captaincy in May.
The new head coach, Steven Croft, a Lancashire mainstay who retired in 2024, has put his faith in James Anderson, a long-time teammate, to steer the squad.
On April 3, Lancashire will play Northamptonshire.
Throughout the 2025 season, the veteran has already taken on the role of interim captain twice. Even though Anderson retired from Test cricket after taking a record 704 wickets for England, he was still appointed. Anderson was a vital component of Lancashire’s preparations even after he left international cricket. He took 17 wickets at an average of 25.94 during the 2025 Championship season and helped out in the Vitality Blast, when he took 20 wickets at 16.10.
After agreeing to a fresh one-year deal in November, Anderson is now committed to leading Lancashire’s red-ball campaign in 2026. Notably, he has more than 300 lifetime First-Class appearances and 1,143 First-Class wickets in 304 games. In addition to highlighting the team’s diverse membership and reiterating that promotion to Division One is still the team’s top priority, James Anderson expressed his delight in leading the group.
“It was a great honour to captain Lancashire for the first time last season, and I’m thrilled to assume the position full-time going into the new campaign. “I’m thrilled about what we can accomplish together with promotion back to Division One as our top priority. We have a fantastic group of players, a great blend of youth and experience,” James Anderson remarked.
Keaton Jennings will continue to lead the Vitality Blast, while Josh Bohannon will continue to serve as vice captain. As Lancashire gets ready for the season opener against Northamptonshire on April 3, the management thinks the Anderson-Bohannon leadership team provides balance.
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