It’s certainly up there with the most eye-raising moves made by a sportsman or woman in recent times.
Jimmy Anderson, at the ripe old age of 44, has decided to continue his playing career despite being told recently by Lancashire that his contract would not be renewed. That will bring to an end an iconic 25-year relationship between Anderson and his home county.
But his choice of new club is certainly a left-field one. Rather than sign for a rival English county club, Anderson will instead next pitch up for a little-known Italian team.
It’s been revealed he will captain and co-own the Napoli Knights, one of six teams in the Italia T10 league.
The Italia T10 league is a 10-over-a-side competition, which takes place across 12 days at the Roma Cricket Ground and begins on Wednesday, November 18. The concept was created by Nadeem Shahid, a former professional cricketer, and Aamir Akhtar, who helped set up the Everest Premier League in Nepal.
Anderson is the latest big name to join the league, following on from the likes of Chris Gayle, Shaun Marsh and Dawid Malan. Italy is hardly a hotbed of cricket but the sport is slowly gaining a reputation there, as shown by the national team’s spirited display in a narrow defeat to England at this year’s T20 World Cup.
In a statement, Anderson said: “Of course, we want Napoli Knights to be competitive and challenge for the title, but we also want to contribute to something that continues to grow well beyond the tournament itself.”
That last part refers to coaching clinics that will be staged alongside matches, with some run by Anderson’s company, Activate Sport & Leisure.
Meanwhile, Anderson’s old England colleague Stuart Broad has criticised Lancashire’s handling of the decision to let Anderson go.
On his ‘For the Love of Cricket’ podcast, Broad said: “I didn’t like it from Lancashire. It was not done in the right way. I think it was disrespectful. You give your icons or greats of the game a better send off than that and it shows a lack of leadership at that club.”
