Surrey in talks to sign Jimmy Anderson after Lancashire release
Jimmy Anderson has opened discussions with Surrey about extending his county career next season after Lancashire released him last month, a report published on 5 November 2026 said. Surrey have offered Anderson a contract and Nottinghamshire are understood to be monitoring the seamer’s situation.
Anderson left Lancashire after 25 years at Old Trafford and initially considered retirement, saying he felt “sadness and shock” when he was told the club had released him in a meeting with Lancashire’s new director of cricket, Paul Farbrace. Despite turning 45 next July, he appears increasingly likely to continue playing. Surrey are able to fit a signing within the England and Wales Cricket Board’s £3.2m salary cap, which the club rarely spends in full because of its number of centrally contracted players.
Surrey are reported to have made a firm move by offering Anderson a deal; on the field they can provide Division One cricket after Anderson took 50 wickets at an average of 17.68 in Division Two last season. The club’s fixtures at a Test venue and a squad capable of competing for the County Championship are cited as cricketing attractions for the veteran seamer.
Nine Surrey players received central contracts from the ECB last month, including five seam bowlers: Gus Atkinson, Sam Curran, Matthew Fisher, Jamie Overton and Henry Crocombe. Those centrally contracted players help explain why Surrey do not typically use the full extent of their salary-cap allowance.
Surrey have not yet appointed a head coach for next season after Gareth Batty left the Oval to join Chennai Super Kings last month; Batty won three successive County Championships between 2022 and 2024 while in charge. The vacancy is unresolved as the club pursues potential signings.
Nottinghamshire are also reported to be monitoring Anderson’s availability but their priority is understood to be Ollie Robinson; Sussex have given Robinson permission to speak to other clubs and he would command a transfer fee with 12 months remaining on his contract. Those developments leave county recruitment plans in play ahead of the next season.
Anderson has ruled out a move to Yorkshire, telling the Tailenders podcast last month that he “wouldn’t have thought so” when asked if that was a possibility.
Separately, Northamptonshire batter Chris Lynn has been handed a one-month ban after testing positive for cocaine at the end of the summer’s T20 Blast. Lynn, 36, accepted the charge from the Cricket Regulator and admitted taking the drug after Northamptonshire Steelbacks’ quarter-final victory over Gloucestershire at Wantage Road in July; he retired hurt during that match but played at Finals Day the following weekend as Northamptonshire lifted the trophy for the third time in their history. Lynn was selected for doping control after the final and his suspension was reduced from three months to one after he agreed to undergo a “substance of abuse treatment programme”.
Surrey are believed to have made a formal offer to Anderson and are reported to be growing in confidence he will accept, while Nottinghamshire remain a potential suitor as they evaluate their options and targets for next season.