Anderson to be knighted

James Anderson is to be knighted for his services to cricket in Rishi Sunak's resignation honours list, the Government has announced.

Anderson, the only athlete on the list to be given an award, is England's record Test wicket-taker and has also played more Test matches for England than any other player.

The 42-year-old retired from Test cricket last summer with 704 wickets to his name, third on the all-time list behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708), but will continue to play for his county Lancashire.

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Anderson played 188 Tests, 194 ODIs and 19 T20 internationals during the 21 years he represented England after making his first appearance in 2002 and his Test debut the following year.

He picked up a calf injury in pre-season training, ruling him out of Lancashire's first block of matches in April, but he said he could play another three years and to the age of 45.

"I really want to focus on this year and do as well as I can," Anderson said at the start of the month

"I am not ruling out playing for another one, two or three years. I don't think you should limit yourself with that.

"I could get a month in and think 'absolutely not' but I could have a great year, we could win everything and they might want to keep me next year so we'll just have to wait and see.

"This club is a place I love, they helped me so much at the start of my career and throughout, I feel it's nice to try and give something back, give myself to them for a season, maybe more."

Anderson's international retirement came following discussions with England head coach Brendon McCullum, who wanted to modify his side's bowling attack in building towards the 2025/26 Ashes in Australia.

His deal at Lancashire also covers the Vitality Blast, meaning he could make a first appearance in the T20 format since 2014. He put himself forward for this year's IPL auction and Hundred draft too, but was not selected.

Anderson has not played any cricket since his farewell England Test against West Indies at Lord's last summer, with the 188-Test veteran enjoying stints as England's fast-bowling mentor since.

He does not have a formal coaching role with England but could still work with the squad during the summer. However, he insists playing for Lancashire will be his priority.

"I want to give playing a good go, so that's what I've told them," Anderson said. "I want to prioritise playing cricket for Lancs.

"If there's opportunities throughout the summer where they want me to come in and do stuff, we'll have to cross that bridge."