Anderson announced as co-owner of new Italian T10 franchise

James Anderson has been announced as the co-owner of the Naples franchise in a T10 league in Italy which is due to launch in Rome next month. The news comes shortly after Lancashire confirmed that they would not offer Anderson, 44, a new contract for next season, with his playing future still unclear.

The Italia T10 League, which is due to run from November 18 to 29, has been founded by Apex T10 Limited, a company owned by the former Essex and Surrey batter Nadeem Shahid. The league announced on Tuesday that Napoli Knights, one of its franchises, would be operated by Activate Sport and Leisure, a British talent management agency.

Luke Sutton, the former Lancashire wicketkeeper who runs Activate, was named as co-owner along with Anderson, whom he managed for several years earlier in his career. When contacted by Cricinfo, Sutton did not immediately confirm whether Anderson has invested his own money in the franchise or whether he has instead been given 'sweat equity'.

Anderson was told last week by Paul Farbrace, Lancashire's new director of cricket, that the club did not intend to offer him a contract for next season. He made his disappointment clear in an Instagram post on Sunday, saying: "If it was up to me, it wouldn't have ended like this, but I wish the players and fans all the best for the future."

It is not yet clear whether Anderson will seek a new deal with another county for 2027. He has been growing his presence in the media for several years - he regularly works as a pundit for the BBC, and features on the Tailenders podcast - and briefly worked with England in a coaching capacity after his international retirement two years ago.

His involvement as a co-owner of a T10 team comes as a surprise, not least given his unenthusiasm for franchise cricket. Anderson has only sporadically played short-form cricket across his long career, and claimed last year that he "hated every minute" of his brief stint with Manchester Originals in the Hundred.

"Cricket has given me so much throughout my career, and the opportunity to be involved in the game in a completely different way is something I'm really excited about," Anderson said in a press release. "Luke and I have a close history, so to be taking on this new challenge together is particularly special.

"The Italia T10 is an exciting concept, and there's a huge opportunity to help raise the profile of cricket in Italy while bringing together some fantastic players and creating an entertaining tournament. Of course, we want Napoli Knights to be competitive and challenge for the title, but we also want to contribute to something that continues to grow well beyond the tournament itself."

Sutton added: "We're incredibly excited to be joining the Italia T10 as owners of Napoli Knights. Having spent so much of our lives involved in cricket, Jimmy and I see this as a fantastic opportunity to be part of something new and ambitious, and to help grow the game in an emerging cricket nation."

Cricket's profile has grown steadily in Italy in recent years, to the extent that the men's national team competed at the T20 World Cup for the first time earlier this year and beat Nepal by 10 wickets in one group game. The team relies heavily on foreign-born players with Italian heritage, with Derbyshire's Wayne Madsen and the Australian allrounder Harry Manenti captaining them.

The owners of Quetta Gladiators, the PSL team, are also involved in the Italia T10 league, having purchased the Rome franchise, while other investors include Indian and Pakistani businessmen. The league says that it "aims to deliver entertaining cricket, showcase talent and engage audiences in Italy and internationally".