Any Lancashire member vexed at seeing so little of their champion bowler on the domestic front will have some sympathy with those who subscribe to another superstar of similar vintage.
James Anderson has played four matches in the County Championship for his native county this summer, not a lot, admittedly, but twice as many as Alun Wyn Jones made for his native region in the PRO14 last winter.
The facts provide a stark example of the growing disconnect of those centrally-contracted Test players from the arenas where they learnt their trade.
While English cricket has learnt to live with it...