England cricket's legendary pacer James Anderson, who had announced his internationals retirement last month in July.
He played his last match against West Indies at the Lord's and finished with 703 wickets in his Test cricket, which is the most by a pacer.
However, in an unexpected turn of events, Anderson might consider making a return to white-ball franchise cricket at the age of 42. It is surprising because he has played no limited-overs cricket for England since 2015, as he has been considered a red-ball specialist.
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The English pacer's last T20 game came in the year 2014, while representing his home county Lancashire in the then NatWest T20 Blast.
Will James Anderson return back to play franchise T20 cricket like IPL?
The former England fast bowler, who has been part of the commentary during the ongoing Hundred 2024 competition, hinted that while he has officially retired from international cricket, he might still be interested in playing some franchise T20 cricket, for the next couple of years.
"I might be in a bit of denial because I’m well aware I won’t play for England again, but I’ve still not made a decision on my actual cricket career," he told a UK media agency.
"There’s definitely a bit of intrigue with the shorter formats because I’ve not played any franchise stuff before. Watching the Hundred this year, seeing the ball swing around, it makes me feel like I could do a job there."
"Once this summer is done, I can sit down and have a real think if I want to play cricket in some shape or form again next year. I’m quite open at the minute to thoughts of any sort of cricket, I’m still fit enough to play and I’m not shutting myself off to anything."
"It’s hard to know if there will be any interest from people wanting me to play in that sort of thing so we’ll wait and see. I know it’s a while since I played it and my age will get brought up again, but I really feel I’ll be good enough to play that form of cricket," he concluded.
While Anderson has not played a lot of T20 cricket in recent years, franchises around the world might still give him a look in, particularly with the emergence of global T20 leagues, which are not just restricted to the top cricketing nations.
While the odds are stacked against him to be picked in a highly competitive league like the Indian Premier League (IPL), he might find tournaments such as the Legends Cricket or the World Championship of Legends, which was recently held in Birmingham, to be an ideal place for him to test himself in the shortest format.
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What is James Anderson's record in T20 cricket?
James Anderson's record in T20 cricket is not very impressive compared to his exploits in Tests and One Day cricket.
However, it is worth noting that he has not tested himself in this format, for close to a decade, with his last T20 match being played in the year 2014.
| Innings | Wickets | Bowling Average | Economy | Best bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 41 | 32.14 | 8.47 | 3/23 |