Atherton: Lancashire did not handle Anderson release badly

Michael Atherton sees no issue with Lancashire's handling of James Anderson's release from the county - but would have been tempted to hand the veteran seam bowler a new contract.

Anderson, 44, bagged 50 wickets at an average of 17.68 in the County Championship during a 2026 season in which Lancashire finished second bottom of Division Two under his captaincy.

Anderson was informed in a meeting with the Red Rose hierarchy that he would not be offered a new deal at a county he first represented in a first-class match in 2002, with new director of cricket Paul Farbrace wanting to build an attack for the future.

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The decision came a little over two years after the fast bowler was retired by England against his wishes, with his final Test coming against West Indies at Lord's in July 2024.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, alongside co-host in Nasser Hussain who had questioned the way Lancashire dispensed with Anderson's services, Atherton said: "I think you can argue about the merits of the decision as he was Lancashire's best bowler by a country mile last season.

"Forget age, young or old, if you are good enough, you are good enough, so you can make a perfectly good argument he should still be leading that Lancashire attack.

"Where I disagree with some of the comment elsewhere is that it has not been handled well, both by England and Lancashire.

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"When somebody like Paul Farbrace comes in as director of cricket at Lancashire, or in England's case Rob Key, when they've decided to move on, how do you do that?

"In both instances, Anderson was told face-to-face. It wasn't done behind his back. Jimmy wasn't expecting [his Lancashire release], it took him by surprise, but it was face-to-face.

"They told him the rationale and then when the members meeting was held, I think Farbrace was abroad, but he dialled in and didn't hide behind the decision. He took full accountability for it.

"So I don't think you can say it's been handled badly.

"I thought England were right to move on at the stage that they did but Lancashire, if I'd have been in that position, I might have tried to get a season out of him next year."

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Where next for Anderson if he carries on playing?

Anderson is poised to play in the Italia T10 League in Rome later this month, having also been named as co-owner for Napoli Knights.

Speaking publicly for the first time since his departure from Old Trafford, on BBC podcast Tailenders, Anderson said he had not yet decided whether he would extend his county career.

He replied "wouldn't have thought so" when asked whether he could see himself turning out for Lancashire's fierce rivals Yorkshire.

If locality is high on the seamer's priority list then Durham could be an option.

However, the Chester-le-Street club, promoted to Division One at the end of the 2026 season, are well-stocked with pacers, especially if England keep overlooking Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse.

Leicestershire, Worcestershire and Derbyshire are also not an enormous trek from Manchester, so Anderson may perhaps be tempted to go to there, pass on his wisdom to younger bowlers, and try to help engineer promotion pushes from Division Two.

Leicestershire are set to play in the second tier in 2027 after being relegated from the top flight last term, although have appealed a points deduction which could potentially change that.

The early murmurings following Anderson's Lancashire release were that Division One clubs were interested in signing him, so maybe we should add Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and Somerset to the list of possible destinations?

With Josh Tongue now an England regular, there may be space for Anderson in the Notts attack, while Somerset, still pursuing a long-awaited maiden County Championship title, could be eager to pair the veteran and Craig Overton as a new-ball duo.

If Anderson were to join Warwickshire, the 2026 Championship winners, he could bowl in tandem with former England colleague Chris Woakes and a player in Ethan Bamber who perhaps deserves to be in the conversation for international honours after 69 wickets at an average under 20 last term.

Many factors will play into Anderson's decision of whether to play on or not - who wants him, where he wants to go, how much money he is being offered - and if one of them is romance, then let's not rule a career-ending spell with Middlesex.

While Old Trafford was Anderson's home ground for a quarter of a century, he has enjoyed a love affair with the 'Home of Cricket' in Lord's, a venue where he bagged 123 wickets in 29 Tests during his England days, including seven five-fors.

Anderson's England career ended with an enforced retirement at Lord's. Maybe his domestic one could end on his own terms at the same place?