Lancs unsure if captain Anderson will face Durham

Lancashire head coach Steven Croft says he is unsure whether captain James Anderson will be fit for their County Championship game at Durham, starting on Friday.

Anderson has played in all three games so far, leading Lancashire to two wins and a draw as they sit top of Division Two.

The 43-year-old is also the highest wicket-taker so far this season in county cricket with 21 at an average of 12.09.

But after bowling one ball shy of 100 overs across 12 days of cricket in three weeks, Lancashire are wary of pushing him too hard.

"I think it's a bit of a waiting game," Croft told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"Jimmy's in incredible condition at the minute, but obviously the body is going to be creaking a little bit."

Anderson opened the season with a five-wicket haul at Northamptonshire and then produced a match-winning spell of 4-18 as Lancashire successfully defended a target of 138 at home to Derbyshire last week.

At Gloucestershire, he broke the game open in the third innings on Sunday, with three wickets in four balls as the hosts slipped from 294-5 to 297-8 to ensure Lancashire could successfully chase down 202.

Those results have taken the Red Rose to the top, above Durham, whom they face at the Riverside in the next round of games.

With a week off after this fixture, Croft and his captain will have to weigh up the merits of whether to push Anderson into a fourth successive game.

"The performance he's not just put in on Sunday, but in the whole season so far, a 21-year-old would be feeling it," said Croft.

"Hopefully he can be fit, but we'll just have to assess in the next few days."

Two players definitely not heading to Durham will be opener Luke Wells, who dislocated his shoulder, and fast bowler Ajeet Singh Dale, who picked up a hamstring injury, both during the game at Bristol.