Anderson to captain Lancashire in Harris' absence

Lancashire are banking on Sir James Anderson igniting their faltering red-ball season by making him captain for the County Championship game against Kent at Blackpool, starting on Sunday.

England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker will lead the Red Rose in their next two matches in the absence of Marcus Harris, who is returning to Australia for the birth of his second child.

Interim coach Stephen Croft is hoping Anderson's X factor and experience can help drag Lancashire to a first victory of the campaign at the eighth attempt - they are currently the only winless side in the country in either division.

"Jimmy will lead the side and it is exciting for him and us," Croft told BBC Sport.

"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."

It is easier to ask 'what has gone right?' with regard to the red-ball campaign and the short answer is 'not a great deal'.

Five draws and two defeats from their seven outings in the first Championship block has cost them plenty with Keaton Jennings stepping aside as skipper after five games.

The opener suggested a change of captaincy was required and Harris was put in charge on an interim basis, but further flux was to follow at the end of last month when patience ran out with head coach Dale Benkenstein.

A thumping defeat by an innings and three runs inside three days against Division Two leaders Leicestershire – the second innings loss in three games for Lancashire and one which left them 73 points adrift of top spot halfway through the campaign – proved the tipping point.

But a decent run of form in white-ball cricket has followed and crucially the first wins of the summer, helped in no small part by 42-year-old Anderson weighing in with 10 wickets in four matches.

Four wins from six in the Blast sees them well-placed in the race for a quarter-final spot and Croft is hoping that the feelgood factor from white-ball cricket will translate to the longest format.

"The way I'm looking at it and what I will say to the team is this is a pivot in the season," said the interim coach.

"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 right at the top so we can use it as pivot in the season to get in the right direction. That break with the Blast suddenly those wins seem a little bit more attainable."

Lancashire will be without Harris for the next two rounds of Championship action but they will have Ashton Turner and Chris Green available.

The game against Kent at Blackpool kicks off a run of three Championship matches at outgrounds, followed by Derbyshire at Chesterfield and Gloucestershire at Cheltenham towards the end of next month.

And generally, that means 'result pitches'.

"Wickets will deteriorate and there will be a little bit there throughout the game. They are smaller grounds so it will be fast scoring when batters get in. It tends to be hard to start there so wicket can fall in clumps," said Croft.

"We didn't get it right in the four-day game and the players know that. But I still feel we have enough quality in this side and it is up to them to turn it round."

Lancashire can take heart from Roses rivals Yorkshire, who last season failed to win any of their first seven games last season but produced five from the next seven to nick the second promotion spot.

by BBC Radio Lancashire commentator Scott Read

It's still very possible that this season's story could have a different ending.

Yes, some supporters may remain uneasy at the perceived lack of a cricketing priority at the club, but at the same time, the money soon to be raised by The Hundred sale, might help to improve that.

And on the pitch the team can still turn their season around.

It is only four years ago that Lancashire were a day away from winning the County Championship title and finished runners-up in all three competitions the following season.

There is every chance the same players who are winless in seven Championship matches will find some form.