Lancashire let James Anderson go at 44, and Surrey have signed him for 2027

James Anderson is not finished. Lancashire let him go last month after 25 years, and now Surrey have signed him on a one-year deal to play County Championship cricket in 2027. He turns 45 in July, halfway through the season.

He thought about retiring. It would have been an odd time to stop. Anderson took 50 Championship wickets at 17.68 in 11 matches this summer, and Lancashire named him their Championship player of the year in the same season they finished seventh in Division Two. Paul Farbrace, their incoming director of cricket, said the club needed a rebuild, and Anderson was not in it.

Back with Stewart

The man who brought him to The Oval is Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket. Anderson made his Test debut alongside him, against Zimbabwe at Lord’s in 2003. Stewart has seen the same numbers as everyone else. “His 50 championship wickets last season prove that he is still one of the best bowlers in the country,” he said.

Anderson sounded just as sure. “I still feel like I have a lot to offer, taking wickets, trying to help the team win games of cricket,” he said. He also wants to help Surrey’s young players who are hoping to play for their country.

Surrey need him too

This is not a club doing an old man a favour. Surrey won three Championship titles and finished second once in the four seasons before 2026, then spent this summer looking over their shoulder at relegation from Division One. Gareth Batty, the head coach who led those title wins, has left as well. He is joining Chennai Super Kings as an assistant coach under Zaheer Khan for IPL 2027.

Surrey can afford Anderson partly because several of their players, Gus Atkinson among them, are on England central contracts. Those players will miss a lot of county cricket. I think it is a smart signing. The risk is his body at 45, not his bowling.

Anderson also gets Division One cricket again. Lancashire stay in Division Two, so he will not come up against his old county in the Championship next summer.

The Oval and Shami

Indian fans will remember one of his days at the Kia Oval in particular. On 11 September 2018 he bowled Mohammed Shami there to finish the fifth Test, and it was his 564th Test wicket, one more than Glenn McGrath. No fast bowler had taken more. He finished with 704 in 188 Tests, behind only Muttiah Muralidaran and Shane Warne. He took an ODI hat-trick at the same ground against Pakistan in 2003, the year he broke into the England side.

“I’ve always loved playing at the Kia Oval,” he said. “For me it’s one of the best grounds in the world.”

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