Anderson decision incredibly difficult - Farbrace

Lancashire director of cricket Paul Farbrace says the decision to release James Anderson was "an incredibly difficult decision".

The 44-year-old England great was not offered a new deal with the Red Rose, ending his association with his home county after more than a quarter of a century.

Anderson captained Lancashire in the County Championship for the first time last season but they endured a poor campaign, finishing second bottom of Division Two.

Burnley-born Anderson first played top-level cricket as a 17-year-old for Lancashire Cricket Board in 2000, then made his Lancashire debut the following year.

He went on to claim 704 wickets in 188 Test matches, making him the leading wicket-taker in the history of English Test cricket, and also took 269 wickets in 194 ODIs and 18 wickets in T20 Internationals.

Anderson made 112 first-class appearances for Lancashire, claiming 443 wickets. He also took 83 wickets in 61 List A matches and a further 50 in T20 appearances for the Red Rose.

He helped Lancashire win the County Championship in 2011 and reached 1,000 first-class wickets during a Championship match against Kent at Old Trafford in 2019, two years after the Pavilion End at his home ground was renamed in his honour.

In the club's first official comment on the news, which broke on Wednesday, Farbrace, Lancashire's incoming director of cricket, said Anderson is "without doubt the greatest bowler Lancashire and England have produced".

"He has been a fantastic competitor throughout his career, with exceptional skill and an unwavering commitment to setting the highest standards in every dressing room he has been part of," he told the club website., external

Farbrace revealed the club is planning "a rebuild" with a view to earning promotion to, and then challenging for, the Division One title in the next few seasons.

He said: "Following a meeting with Jimmy and [chief executive] Richard Kenyon on Monday [19 October], I spoke to Jimmy about our ambitions to rebuild our men's squad that is capable of securing promotion from Division Two and then challenging to win Division One over the next three to four years.

"We are keen to begin that rebuild now, both in terms of the playing squad and the wider professional cricket set-up, and to make important progress over the coming months.

"As part of those plans, I informed Jimmy that we had taken the incredibly difficult decision not to extend his playing contract for the 2027 season."

Anderson is likely to have plenty of opportunities to continue his career into the summer in which he turns 45, with a number of clubs keen to speak to him.

Farbrace added that Anderson's contribution to Lancashire had been "immense" and that he leaves a "lasting legacy".

"We have enormous respect for what he has achieved, and we will always be proud that he has represented Lancashire for so many years," he said.