James Anderson to lead Lancashire for two County Championship games as Marcus Harris returns for birth of his child

‌Lancashire are currently second from last after seven rounds of the Championship with 66 points from two losses and five draws. With seven more rounds remaining, Lancashire will have their task cut out to move upwards in the eight-team table.

"Jimmy will lead the side and it is exciting for him and us," Steven Croft, Lancashire's interim head coach, told the BBC. "He has captained only once and that was in a pre-season tour T20 game in Dubai so it will be nice for Jimmy and nice for the lads.

"He has obviously got a lot to offer on and off the field. It will be a proud moment for him. It is not obviously all on Jimmy but it helps and his presence, particularly as captain, is a massive boost for the rest of the lads."

"The way I'm looking at it and what I will say to the team is this is a pivot in the season," Croft said. "Seven games that have gone before we can't do anything about. But we still have seven games to climb the ladder and there is still a chance we can go up.

"We are only a few wins away from being right at the top so we can use it as a pivot in the season to get in the right direction. That break with the Blast, suddenly those wins seem a little bit more attainable."

The championship game against Kent starting on June 22, after a break of a month, will be Anderson’s first-ever professional game as captain having never led a side in his playing career. He will also be in charge of the game against Derbyshire scheduled on June 29,

Anderson is currently playing in the Vitality Blast for Lancashire and has been impressive so far with 10 wickets from four matches. However, he has played only one county game for his side this season having missed the first six games with a calf injury. In his solitary appearance, he picked up a five-wicket match haul against Derbyshire in a drawn encounter.