LONDON (The Thursday Times) — James Anderson, England’s record Test wicket-taker, has signed for Surrey for the 2027 County Championship season, extending a professional career that will now run past his 45th birthday.
The 44-year-old fast bowler joins the London club after Lancashire, the county he first played for professionally 25 years ago and which has a stand named after him at Old Trafford, decided not to renew his contract.
“It’s an honour to join a club like Surrey and I can’t wait to start a new chapter in my career,” Anderson said in the club’s announcement on Thursday. “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 hoped to help young bowlers who want to play for their country, and that the Oval, Surrey’s home ground, was one of the best in the world. Speaking on his podcast, he said he was not signing for a send-off.
Still taking wickets
Anderson captained Lancashire in 2026 and took 50 Championship wickets at an average of under 18, even as the county finished second from bottom of the first division.
“His 50 championship wickets last season prove that he is still one of the best bowlers in the country,” said Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, who played in Anderson’s first Test in 2003. “Much of our squad have international aspirations, and they will learn a great deal from training, playing and being in the same dressing room with Jimmy.”
704 Test wickets
Anderson retired from international cricket in July 2024 after a farewell Test against the West Indies at Lord’s, finishing with 704 Test wickets, the most by any fast bowler, and 911 across all formats. He was knighted in 2025.
It was at the Oval in 2018 that he passed Glenn McGrath’s record for the most Test wickets by a fast bowler. He also toured Pakistan with England in 2022, when they played Tests in Rawalpindi, Multan, and Karachi.
