James Anderson: Major League Cricket in USA keen on England icon

England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker James Anderson is a surprise target for Major League Cricket.

BBC Sport understands senior figures with at least one MLC team have had their interest pricked by Anderson’s comments last month about a return to white-ball cricket.

The unnamed franchise are now set to explore whether the 42-year-old would be interested in participating in the third edition of the T20 tournament in the United States next year.

Anderson could earn about £135,000 from a short stint in MLC, which lured some stellar names from the game for the 2024 edition.

The most high profile of those was Australia captain Pat Cummins, who has a lucrative contract with the San Francisco Unicorns until 2027.

Fellow Australians Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head were all part of the star-studded Washington Freedom team, coached by Ricky Ponting, which won this year’s tournament.

Anderson, who finished with 704 Test wickets, retired from international cricket following the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s in July.

He immediately joined the England backroom team and remains on a central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) until the end of September.

Anderson said last week he would continue in his role as a fast-bowling mentor for England’s Test series against Pakistan in October and was planning to join the side for their tour of New Zealand in December.