Anderson confident wins will come for Lancashire

Yahoo

26-06-2025

James Anderson is confident Lancashire can turn their season around if they maintain the positive approach they showed against Kent.
England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker captained Lancashire for the first time in the Championship game in Blackpool.
Advertisement
But the Red Rose could not nail down a first red-ball win of the season as Kent batted out the final day for a draw.
However, Anderson was pleased with how his players took the initiative and hopes they can maintain that against Derbyshire in the next Championship match in Chesterfield.
"The positive approach we had, if we keep that and keep playing well, we have the quality in the group to win some games," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.
It has been a terrible start to the Championship for Lancashire this season in Division Two following relegation, with the Red Rose picking up no wins from eight games as they sit sixth.
Advertisement
Captain Keaton Jennings resigned last month before head coach Dale Benkenstein was sacked a fortnight later.
Steven Croft is the interim head coach while Australia batter Marcus Harris has been appointed as the red-ball skipper.
But with Harris back home on paternity leave, Anderson has taken over for the games with Kent and Derbyshire.
Lancashire's mammoth 639-9 dec was their highest score for 10 years, with three players - Luke Wells, Josh Bohannon and Ashton Turner - scoring centuries.
And they had Kent on the ropes at 116-7 in their second innings, only for a stand of 182 between Joey Evison and Grant Stewart to effectively save the game.
Advertisement
"The way we applied ourselves this week felt different to the rest of the season," said Anderson.
"We had a lot of positive energy in the field and then the way we applied ourselves with the bat - we dug in when needed and when the opportunity was there to put the pressure on the opposition, we did that."
'More pressure when decisions are yours'
The game in Blackpool was Anderson's first go at leading a side despite his vast experience of 188 Tests and more than 20 years of first-class cricket.
And he admits that certain things took him by surprise.
"Day one, the concentration levels weren't quite there when I was bowling," he said.
Advertisement
"I was thinking about other stuff rather than where I was bowling the ball, so it took a little while to get used to that.
"For me, it was something very different. Even when I've played and not been captain, I've always thought about the game and tried to help captains out on the field.
"But obviously when the decisions are yours, you feel under that little bit more pressure.
"But I got used to it as the game went on and thoroughly enjoyed it."