Josh Bohannon hailed James Anderson as an inspiration to him and the rest of the Lancashire squad, as the all-time great enters the endgame of his storied career.

Anderson, 41, will play his last-ever game for England against the West Indies at Lord’s next month – bowing out of the Test arena on the same stage he entered it, 21 years ago.

In that time, he has taken 700 wickets in 187 Tests – behind only Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan in the first measure, and Sachin Tendulkar in the second.

Unsurprisingly, he is an inspiration to Bohannon, who was six when Anderson took the first of 32 Test five-fors on debut against Zimbabwe – not to mention the younger members of Lancashire’s squad, some of whom were not even born.

Bohannon hopes to take the field alongside Anderson at Southport & Birkdale on Sunday, when the Red Rose take on Nottinghamshire in a Vitality County Championship clash.

And he said: “Jimmy is an amazing bloke, whether that be on the field or off it. 

“He’s someone I’ve managed to grow quite close to over the past few years. 

“Just to be able to dip into that knowledge, the way he sees the game, the way he reads different situations – to be able to speak to him about that and just to spend time around him, you can’t ever replace that. 

“He’s an amazing bloke to be around and I can’t wait to take the field with him this week, all being good. 

“The way he is with the younger lads too, he’s brilliant with everyone, whether it’s your first game or your 100th. 

“It’s really exciting for the young lads to have him around as well, it’s only going to boost the squad.”

Bohannon was full of praise for Lancashire’s young guns, who have stepped up as some of the senior players – himself included – struggled to get going in the early part of the season.

George Balderson, 23, has made valuable contributions with bat and ball, after a breakthrough season last year. 

Wicketkeeper Matty Hurst, 20, who plays his club cricket with Leigh in the Love Lane Liverpool Competition, made his maiden century against Notts at Old Trafford earlier this season.

And Bohannon reckons George Bell, 21, and Ormskirk’s George Lavelle, 24, were unlucky to miss out on the runs in the win over Kent last week.

The 27-year-old added: “Balderson is still very young but the maturity he’s got on his shoulders is fascinating, really – the way he sees the game, the way he speaks, just how clear he is about stuff. 

“You only have to look at Matty Hurst and what he’s done so far, early on in his career – he’s another one who speaks well about the game, and for someone so young is extremely fearless, and he’s got every shot in the book. 

“It’s really pleasing to see someone come in and make an impact so quickly. I’m buzzing for him, and hopefully he can carry that on for the rest of the summer. 

“Belly is another one who is getting better week in, week out, and he was very unlucky to get out the way he did last week, to get one going off his thigh pad and on to the stumps. 

“It just shows why cricket’s the biggest leveller. Hopefully he can get another good start.

“George Lavelle was unlucky to miss out this week, that’s just cricket unfortunately – you’re sat around for a while watching, then you get a good ball first up. 

“But he’s still a massive part of our squad, and the maturity he’s had since coming back from Australia this winter is brilliant.”

Lancashire are in something of a transitional phase after several recent departures, but Bohannon reckons the future is bright – even if Anderson will soon head off into the sunset.

He added: “As a group, we understand that we are in a transformation phase as a club, we’ve lost quite a few experienced players but we still set high standards for each other, and as a club. 

“If we’re able to keep giving opportunities in the next couple of years to these players, I think it’s a really exciting group and there’s some exciting cricket to be played in the next couple of years.”