JIMMY Anderson hasn't ruled out playing county cricket for Lancashire beyond the end of his England career.

The Burnley ace feels he owes a debt to the Red Rose given the role they played in his development and subsequent rise to England's leading Test wicket taker.

And the 34-year-old, currently in action for Lancashire against Hampshire at Old Trafford, revealed that could lead to him extending his career in the game to play for the county that means so much to him.

"It's possible," said Anderson, who has returned from a groin injury to play for Lancashire this week.

"My thinking has always been that I owe a lot to Lancashire for my development as a cricketer and in the last 10 years I've played a lot more for England than Lancashire so I do feel a debt to the club.

“It would be nice to pay them back if that means carrying on for a bit at the end of my career.”

Anderson will seek to add to his collection of 122 Test caps and 467 victims during the series with South Africa which begins at Lord's on July 6.

He has begun this season with the Red Rose as he no longer players one-day cricket for England and he captained Lancashire in Dubai during their pre-season preparations.

"I enjoyed it. It was only a pre-season tour but it was nice to lead the lads out and win some games as well," Anderson said.

"It's not something that will bother me in the future if I do it or not, I'm not going to seek it out.

“I enjoyed it, but I enjoy my role in the team as well. I see myself as a leader within the group. I don't think that changes, I still think like a captain on the field, I still try and help Crofty out where I can or help Rooty out if it's England.

“For me, my mindset never changes. I'm always thinking about ways to help the team if I'm captain or not."

Anderson has been well placed to see how regime change has impacted at Old Trafford, with Ashley Giles' return to Warwickshire seeing Glen Chapple take on the top job, with Mark Chilton his assistant, and he sees similarities with the way the England coaching staff have now empowered the players.

"(It's) similar to what Trevor Bayliss did with England on pre-season tour, they have been trying to get guys opening up and talking amongst themselves rather than them forcing themselves on everyone," he said.

"Just let guys talk about the game, learn for themselves rather than tell them what they have done wrong. From what I have seen in the past that’s how players grow and learn quicker – doing it for themselves rather than being told in a school teacher’s kind of way."

The end of Anderson's international career will signal a changing of the guard for England, with his long-time new ball partner Stuart Broad also approaching the twilight of his career.

And Anderson hopes that those who will follow in his footsteps are just as embedded in the history of the game as he was.

"The biggest battle I see with the younger generation is trying to get them to focus on cricket and think about the game," he said.

"Because there’s a lot of distractions away from the game, whether it’s mobile phones, social media, things like that.

"There’s a lot more distractions now, and what I see guys missing is studying the game, trying to learn not just about how they can improve their game but the history of their game, the skills that they need both mentally and on the field."