Former England bowler Jimmy Anderson has spent 25 years at Lancashire but won't be offered a new contract, a decision which is expected to bring his professional career to an end

England legend Jimmy Anderson is set to announce his retirement from cricket after Lancashire decided not to extend his contract. Anderson, 44, was told this week by Lancashire's new chief executive, Richard Kenyon, and new director of cricket Paul Farbrace that he won't be handed a renewal.

The veteran bowler opted to continue playing for Lancashire in both red and white-ball cricket after England controversially forced him into international retirement two years ago. Anderson captained Lancs last season and took 50 wickets at an average of 17 runs, but they slumped to a second-bottom finish in Division Two of the County Championship, their worst finish since 1984.

Lancashire's 'civil war' at boardroom level and struggles on the field have prompted the county to look to the future, symbolised by Kenyon and Farbrace's appointments. As part of that strategy, Anderson will be released.

The Mail report that the 44-year-old has no intention of joining another county, bringing his glittering professional career to an end. Anderson made his debut for Lancs in 2001 and went on to become one of cricket's greatest ever seam bowlers.

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His record stands at 1,193 first-class wickets, 358 in one-day cricket and 71 in T20s. His tally of 704 at international level means that he remains England's all-time leading wicket-taker.

Anderson won four Ashes series during his Test career with England. He was part of the famous side that beat Australia 3-1 away from home in the 2010-11 edition.

But Anderson's England career came to an end when he was asked to retire by former head coach Brendon McCullum, ex-captain Ben Stokes and director of cricket Rob Key. He told the Independent in an interview last year: "I'm still a bit mixed on it. It's one of those things that was out of my hands.

"They made the decision to move away from having me in the team. That was pretty gutting at the time. I'd been preparing before my last Test match for the next six, 12, 18 months of Test cricket; I wasn't anywhere near retirement in my head. I felt I still had that want and hunger to play, to do the hard yards, the training, the skill work."

As well as continuing to play for Lancashire following their relegation in 2024, Anderson featured in The Hundred the following year. But he 'hated every minute' of the competition.

Anderson remained prolific with the ball in hand. Only six bowlers - one of them being Lancashire team-mate George Balderson - picked up more wickets in Division Two last season.

But problems behind the scenes at Old Trafford, such as Mark Chilton's sacking as director of cricket, and Daniel Gidney's decision to quit as chief executive after 14 years, reflected the team's poor results. Lancashire's task in 2027 will be return to the top flight, having not won the County Championship since 2011.