Yorkshire CCC reveal thinking behind James Anderson decision

But they are keen to build an attack for the future – echoing Lancashire’s decision to let him go.

Gavin Hamilton, the club’s general manager of cricket, told The Yorkshire Post: “We absolutely considered it. I mean, it would be silly not to. It’s something that any county would be very much interested in. But we very much want to stick with what we’ve got, with our long-term planning.

“I’d like to think that we’ve now got one of the best seam attacks in the country, and we want to give opportunities for young lads when they arise. Don’t get me wrong, Jimmy’s quality and experience would be second to none. But we know where we've got to invest, and that’s in the batting. We've got plenty of bowlers. We've got seven, potentially eight first-class-ready bowlers, and eleven on the staff.”

Yorkshire did not speak to Anderson, Hamilton confirmed, having debated whether to approach a man who claimed 991 international wickets. Anderson is unlikely to be short of offers if he does decide to play on, with a number of counties thought to be keen.

The timing was not quite right from Yorkshire’s point of view, following the signing of James Taylor from Surrey on a three-year deal, and the emergence of young players such as Ben Cliff. With George Hill, Ben Coad and Jack White continuing to provide quality and experience, the club is well-stocked on the bowling front.

“We didn’t get to that stage (of speaking to him),” said Hamilton. “I discussed it at length with Mags (head coach Anthony McGrath). I discussed it at length with our board, our execs. I gave my rationale, and we're all completely aligned to the thinking.

“Look, if it was this time last year, we absolutely would have been (interested). To have Jimmy around last summer would have been absolutely priceless. But with the signing of James Taylor and the progression of Cliffy (Ben Cliff), and with another three lads waiting in the wings, it would be silly to take up that slot.

“I don't think that gives the right messaging, especially to Cliffy and to the likes of James Taylor, because we’ve worked very hard in terms of recruitment and getting our bowlers into a place where they’re getting opportunities and progressing.”

Whether Anderson would have wanted to play for Yorkshire is, of course, another matter. In a recent podcast, he joked that he “wouldn’t have thought” he could move over to the dark side, as it were, although there has been no indication of his future plans beyond his involvement in this month’s Italia T10 League.

In the modern era, the most high-profile instance of a player switching Roses allegiance was that of David Byas. Yorkshire’s County Championship-winning captain of 2001 had a spell on the other side of the Pennines before returning to Headingley as director of cricket.

Instead, Hamilton said Yorkshire are stepping up their search for an overseas batsman and have “three or four people we’re looking at”.

“We just have to be very careful around getting somebody that's not going to be in and around the IPL (Indian Premier League) or PSL (Pakistan Super League), because they're going to have to play a huge part in that first red-ball block,” he added. “That’s going to be crucial, because we want somebody that’s going to be able to spend as much of the season as they can with us.

“We’ve still got quite a stacked top-order and potentially Rooty and Brooky (Joe Root and Harry Brook) back in the first part of the year for two or three games. Obviously our batting last season wasn’t ideal, but we’ve still very much got faith in our top-order and for them to come good, backed up by an overseas player, I’d suggest.”