James Anderson Signs for Surrey After Lancashire Let Him Go

Surrey have signed James Anderson because his 50 County Championship wickets for Lancashire in 2026 were 13 more than any Surrey bowler managed in Division One, where Matthew Fisher led them with 37. He took them in 11 matches at 17.68, a wicket every 38.7 balls.

BBC Sport reported that Surrey, champions in 2022, 2023 and 2024, struggled in 2026 with a seam attack hit by injuries. Anderson adds depth behind their England-contracted quicks, including Gus Atkinson.

James Anderson took 50 wickets in 11 Division Two matches in 2026 at an average of 17.68, the best average of the 8 bowlers in the division with 47 or more wickets. He was 7th on the list, behind Matty Potts with 60, and 3 behind his Lancashire team-mate George Balderson.

He took 5 or more wickets in 5 of his 11 matches, starting with match figures of 8/111 against Northamptonshire on 3 April and 7/63 against Gloucestershire 2 weeks later. The full board is on our County Championship Division Two wickets table.

Match by match, his 2026 Championship season ran like this:

Every innings, with the line his wickets clear, is on his first-class wickets page, and his share of the side's wickets is on Lancashire's first-class wickets page.

James Anderson's 50 wickets in 2026 would have topped Surrey's list by 13, with Matthew Fisher on 37 in 11 Division One matches and Daniel Worrall on 28 in 8. The catch is the level: Division One is the stronger division, and its leading wicket-taker, Ethan Bamber, took 69.

Surrey's full figures are on Surrey's first-class wickets page and the County Championship Division One hub. BBC Sport reported that Anderson has not played Division One cricket for a few years, and the move gives him Division One cricket again, with Surrey's home matches at the Kennington Oval.

Lancashire released James Anderson, 44, as part of a squad rebuild under director of cricket Paul Farbrace, BBC Sport reported, after a 2026 in which he took 50 Championship wickets and captained a side that finished second from bottom of Division Two. He first played for them 25 years ago.

His last home match of the season at Old Trafford, the ground with an end named after him, came against Gloucestershire on 8 September, when he bowled 35 overs for 3/74. Lancashire's results are on their first-class team page and the County Championship Division Two hub.

James Anderson took 704 Test wickets in 188 Tests, according to ESPNcricinfo, the most by any fast bowler and third on the all-time list, and 991 international wickets across the 3 formats. England ended his Test career in the summer of 2024.

Our scorecards hold 181 of those Test wickets, from 55 matches since 2017, at an average of 24.3, all on his Test page. His Statz player page puts every format on one chart, from his 22 T20 matches since 2007 to this season's Championship.

James Anderson played 5 T20 Blast matches for Lancashire in 2026 and took 8 wickets at 17.63, conceding 141 runs from 116 balls, an economy of 7.29. His Surrey contract is red-ball only, BBC Sport reported, though he would play white-ball cricket if Surrey needed him.

His T20 record is on his T20 page. For the latest on the move, and on everything he does at Surrey in 2027, follow James Anderson on Statz.