Jimmy Anderson could teach Philip Marlowe a thing or two about The Long Goodbye. England’s leading wicket-taker in Tests is of that sporting breed who have no interest in bowing out at the top. Like Andy Murray before him, he has shown little enthusiasm to bow out at all, as long as his body allows him to keep doing the thing he loves: getting opposition batsmen out.
It was little surprise, then, that when Lancashire announced this week they would not be renewing his contract after 25 years, there was no immediate retirement announcement. Instead there was an irked Instagram post, then silence, as the one-club man considered his options. One of those, apparently, was a T10 cricket tournament in Rome.
And lo, it is now confirmed that Anderson will lead (and even “co-own”) the Napoli Knights for 12 days next month. It may not seem an obvious encore to an illustrious red-ball career, but neither was putting himself up for auction in the Indian Premier League at the age of 42, having played no short-format cricket in a decade. Anderson has always been more interested in playing the game than his own ego.
Will Italy be the final act for this anti-diva? It seems unlikely: Anderson’s GOAT status has always encompassed that animal’s legendarily stubborn qualities, and his farewell tour now rivals Elton John’s. Remember the time he and Stuart Broad were dropped from the England squad to tour the West Indies, and everyone assumed both men’s careers were over?
That was nearly five years ago. Broad’s retirement in 2023 only made Anderson more determined to continue; by the following March he had his 700th Test wicket. When England’s director of cricket, Rob Key, did call time on his international career that summer, Anderson immediately showed the Bazboys what they were missing, taking seven for 35 on his County Championship return against Nottinghamshire.
Since then there have been two more summers with Lancashire, including 50 championship wickets at 17.68 this year, despite a recurring calf injury. Now that his county, like his country, wants to move on without him, no one will begrudge him a little of his trademark grumpiness. Anderson’s stubborn refusal to give up has, after all, fuelled his greatest achievements.
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