James Anderson will play his first cricket match this week since being axed from the England Test side during the winter.
The record-breaking bowler was stood down from Test action for England’s defeat in the West Indies along with Stuart Broad and the duo have been kept on the leash as centrally contracted players ever since. But with the first Test of the summer against New Zealand just six weeks away, Anderson has been made available for Lancashire’s game with Gloucestershire at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday.
"That first Test is in our minds," said Anderson ahead of his season. "It is trying to find a balance of playing enough but not being overworked before that first Test. I want to be in as good form as possible going into that series."
