James Anderson will continue his playing career in Italy after Lancashire opted against offering him a new deal.
England's all-time leading wicket-taker will captain and co-own the Napoli Knights, who play in the Italia T10 League.
The 44-year-old was released by Lancashire last week, therefore bringing his 25-year association with the club to an end.
Created by ex-professional cricketer Nadeem Shahid, and Aamir Akhtar, the Italia T10 League takes place over 12 days and is staged the Roma Cricket Ground, beginning on 18th November.
Former England international Dawid Malan, Chris Gayle and Shaun Marsh are among the big names set to feature alongside a whole host of Italy's T20 World Cup squad that impressed at the beginning of the year.
Co-founder Shahid told Reuters: "One of the things that made it attractive is the Italian Olympic Committee beginning to take it seriously after it became an Olympic sport."
"Tickets will be free for all the matches, and there will be coaching clinics on the sidelines."
Anderson owns a company called Activate Sport & Leisure, who are planning to be involved in the training clinics around the ground, as Italy look to develop homegrown talent ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.
"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," Anderson said.
It remains to be seen whether or not Anderson will continue his County Championship career next season.
There has been no hint of retirement just yet and reports suggest that multiple counties would be willing to offer him a deal for the 2027 campaign. Anderson took 50 wickets at less than 18 while captaining Lancashire last term, clearly showing that he is still very capable of performing to a high level in the domestic game.
