James Anderson takes 7 wickets for Lancashire in test match warm-up

The 'Burnley Express' will play his final test match for England next week

Author: PA Sport staffPublished 2nd Jul 2024

James Anderson took seven wickets to put Lancashire in control against Nottinghamshire after three days of their Vitality County Championship match at Southport.

Anderson, playing his first Championship match in over a year, warmed up for the final Test of his illustrious career next week with a sensational seven for 35 - the best figures in this season's Championship - as Nottinghamshire were skittled for 126 in reply to Lancashire's first-innings 353 for nine declared.

Nathan Lyon took his 800th first-class wicket when the visitors followed-on 227 runs behind and they had reached 84 for two by the close, needing a further 143 runs to avoid an innings defeat.

Keaton Jennings declared once Lancashire had scored the six runs needed for a third batting point and then watched from second slip as Anderson unleashed an astonishing 10-over spell of six for 19 from the Harrod Drive End to destroy the visitors' top order.

If there was a shade of good fortune about his first wicket when Haseeb Hameed deflected the ball just enough to clip the bails, the rest were the result of Anderson repeatedly hitting a perfect line and length.

Will Young was the next to depart when edging behind to wicketkeeper Matty Hurst followed by Joe Clarke caught at second slip, while both Jack Haynes and Lyndon James were caught fending off rib-high deliveries.

Anderson took all six wickets to fall before lunch after Liam Patterson-White edged to give fourth slip another catch and, suitably refreshed, the England bowler returned to have Dillon Pennington caught behind in the fifth over of the afternoon.

By then Tom Bailey had nipped in to take two wickets in two balls, ending a 41-run partnership between Ben Slater and Calvin Harrison when the latter edged behind, and having Olly Stone caught at second slip.

Last pair Slater and Dane Paterson added 42 for the last wicket before a direct hit by Lyon ended the innings.

Slater was trapped lbw for 17 by Lyon when Nottinghamshire followed on and the Australia spinner had Hameed caught behind for 41. First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Hits Radio app.