Ground: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
Captain: Keaton Jennings
2023 results: CC1 5/10; ODC: Quarter-finalists; T20: Quarter-finalists
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
After 31 years as a Lancashire player, captain and coach, Glen Chapple has left Old Trafford. But the team he hands over to new boss Dale Benkenstein can expect to challenge on all fronts this summer and beyond. So close to the fourday title in 2021, triple bridesmaids the following year; a drop-off was understandable in 2023. They look ready to go again. Josh Bohannon, a Red Rose in full bloom, was last year’s leading scorer in Division One and captained England Lions over the winter, while 23-year-old allrounder George Balderson gave more evidence that he is the real deal. Other youngsters impressed, with George Bell already established as the four-day keeper at the age of 21. Tom Bailey and Will Williams have formed a fearsome new-ball pair, and the prized signing of Nathan Lyon gives Lancs a world-class spinner to work alongside England’s Tom Hartley.
They didn’t get much from their overseas cast last year, Dane Vilas fading in his final season, but Lyon and experienced Kiwi batter Tom Bruce are booked in for the whole summer. Veteran Steven Croft has signed a T20 contract and joined the coaching staff.
THE VIEW FROM THE COMMENTARY BOX SCOTT READ
I think it was one of the more frustrating seasons in recent years for Lancashire, having come so close the previous year in 2022 where they finished runners up in all three competitions, last season turned into a season where the team was starting to change, it felt a bit like the end of an era. Captain Dane Vilas retiring, Matt Parkinson, Danny Lamb and Rob Jones all leaving, Steven Croft coming to the end of his first-class career and then Head Coach Glen Chapple leaving after 30 years at the club. Three wins all season in the Championship probably wasn’t a reflection of the cricket they played, but it was a season which won’t live long in the memory. They’ll be expected to compete in all three formats again, its been a pretty barren run for the Club, only a T20 blast and second division title to show in over decade. Leading run-scorer: Josh Bohannon, leading wicket-taker: Tom Bailey.
TWO TO LOOK OUT FOR
Tom Aspinwall and Matty Hurst are two players who broke into the first team towards the end of last season. Hurst, a middle order wicket-keeper batter, scored two half-centuries in three innings including one on his first visit to Lords. Aspinwall, has yet to make a first-class debut but 10 wickets and 100 runs
