James Anderson free to play two County Championship games for Lancashire

The Burnley seamer will train with his county at Old Trafford over the next fortnight before potentially making his first domestic appearance of the season when Glen Chapple’s men host Somerset in Division One from May 4 to 7.

He is then also available to potentially face England new-ball partner Stuart Broad when Lancashire play Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge from May 11.

Broad has been made available for three matches starting with Notts’ trip to Worcestershire this weekend.

“We know Jimmy loves playing for Lancashire, and having him back in contention will be a real boost,” said head coach Chapple.

The Red Rose will be looking to get up and running in Division One against Surrey at Old Trafford on Friday after back-to-back defeats to start the new summer at home to Notts and away at Essex.

Their much-hyped batting line-up is yet to fire, and it must do soon if they are to spark a title bid to back up last season’s second-placed finish.

Assistant coach Mark Chilton said: “I don’t think there’s any reason for us to worry or panic too much.

“Our side has still got a lot of quality.

“For us, it’s just about tightening up areas of our game to make sure we are producing good cricket for slightly longer. We’ve played good cricket in patches.”