IF City fans are fed up seeing the famous ticker at Old Trafford counting the number of years since their last trophy, Lancashire supporters should be thankful Yorkshire haven’t cottoned on to the idea.
Because if Headingley’s infamous Western Terrace was adorned with a Red Rose Championship equivalent it would be ticking around to 77 at the start of next season after another barren campaign.
Yet again, a year which started with much promises has ended up with Lancashire trophyless. It is now 11 years since they picked up their last major piece of silverware and for a club with the stature, support and players they have at Old Trafford that is far too long.
And it is even more galling for Lancashire fans to watch smaller clubs with fewer resources picking up prizes at the end of the season.
After two years of dallying with relegation, a solid fourth place finish with one more win than last season in the LV=County Championship is at least progress. And at times Lancashire played some stunning cricket, with the final-over win against Hampshire at Liverpool the highlight along with the dramatic Twenty20 Roses triumph at OT.
But having for most of 2009 been the best one-day side in the country, the fact their CB40 campaign ended before it had almost begun and that sloppy defeats in the Friends Provident t20 group stages left them with a tough trip to Essex in the quarter-finals where their hopes ended, was disappointing.
Add to that the announcement Andrew Flintoff will never be seen striding to the middle wearing a Red Rose again, and that over the next few years the club will have to tighten it’s belt financially as the effects of fewer Test matches, the economy and the cost of the planned redevelopment bite, then at first look things seem gloomy.
But under the surface, there is plenty to inspire Lancashire fans that the future has much to relish.
Off the field, the club now have a stunning £12m conference suite which, whether you love or hate the architecture of The Point, will underpin their finances for years to come.
And, as long as what the club are hoping is a small hitch with regards to the planning application is just that, by 2013 Red Rose fans will be sitting in a state-of-the-art stadium watching the Ashes.
The revenue those two projects generate will be ploughed back into the team, and in Peter Moores, Lancashire probably have the best county coach in the business to utilise it.
And on the field, the dramatic change in personnel over the last three seasons has seen an exciting crop of youngsters coming into the side.
All of a sudden Tom Smith and Steven Croft have turned into top-class pros who are exciting to watch.
Simon Kerrigan and Stephen Parry have shown there is life after Gary Keedy, who himself is far from finished.
Glen Chapple continues to defy his age – and his body – and with Sajid Mahmood provides a new-ball attack any county would want.
And underneath is a growing band of talent beginning to emerge with Karl Brown, Luke Procter and Jordan Clark already showing glimpses this season of what may be to come.
But overall, it hasn’t been the season the players or the fans had hoped for.
BATTING
SIMPLY the main reason why Lancashire weren’t challenging for the title right to the end.
The fact that between them Paul Horton, Mark Chilton, Steven Croft and Stephen Moore – four of the top six in the order – scored just one Championship century speaks volumes.
All too often they got starts without carrying them through, and if it wasn’t for the class of the overseas players Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ashwell Prince, and some rescue acts by a Saj Mahmood-inspired lower order, Lancashire could have found themselves in a relegation scrap.
Moore’s horrific shoulder injury was unfortunate because he was showing signs of finding his form and should kick on next season, but Moores must decide on and stick to a regular opening partnership.
But the lack of first innings runs isn’t isolated to this season, it has been a continual one for the last three years, an issue Moores must solve if the Championship is to come to Old Trafford. If Lancashire employ an overseas player next year he surely has to be a top-order batsman – Chanderpaul would again do nicely, West Indies fixtures allowing – and don’t rule out a domestic signing either.
Mahmood’s batting has been simply exhilarating, while it has been good to see Gareth Cross and Tom Smith – who was a revelation with the bat in Twenty20 cricket – both score Championship centuries.
Luke Sutton saved his best season for last with his two tons and, having left for Derbyshire, his experience will be missed in the dressing room and on the field.
BOWLING
THE fact Glen Chapple has never played a Test for England is one of cricket’s great mysteries. Now 36 his chance has gone, but he is as good as ever.
He cut back on his workload – playing just three CB40 games – but it reaped rewards in the Championship as he led the attack with 52 wickets and missed just two games which for Chappie is a success.
And although Mahmood is still struggling to find consistency, his pace still causes the best batsmen problems.
All-round action man Tom Smith has learned to bowl at the death and is improving all the time as a first-change bowler in four-day cricket, while there is still more to come from Kyle Hogg who is slowly starting to fulfil the promise shown in his early career.
And the spin department is as healthy as it has ever been. Simon Kerrigan, in his debut year, looks to have played Championship cricket all his life, while Stephen Parry’s one-day form – he was among the best bowlers in the country in the Friends Provident Twenty20 – earned him a call-up to the England Lions. And the way Gary Keedy came back from what was a serious shoulder injury shows he is not yet ready to move over and let the young ones through.
The problem is when either Chapple or Mahmood – or both – are injured. Daren Powell, brought in to fill that back-up roll, has had a season to forget and it is no surprise that he has left the club a year before his contract was up.
Moores has admitted they want Ryan Sidebottom, who would help make the seam attack one of the best in the country if they got him.
And it will be strengthened further by the return of Oliver Newby, who is on course to start next season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.
And then there is a certain Muttiah Muralitharan, who has already told MEN Sport he wants to return to Lancashire next year to play Twenty20 cricket and a handful of Championships cricket. Now imagine the damage he could do, considering Lancashire’s home games will be played on out grounds next season.
FIELDING
Without doubt, in 2009 Lancashire were the best fielding side in the country.
They didn’t quite reach the same heights this season, mainly because they lost Francois du Plessis who is probably the best fielder in the world.
But Croft, in particular, as well as Chilton and Tom Smith ensured the standard has remained high – although Kerrigan and Powell have both had moments to forget this year.
Behind the stumps both Gareth Cross and Sutton have had solid campaigns, but the challenge for Cross now is to make the slot his own as he gets the chance to keep for a whole season of Championship cricket.
Quote of the season
“I love batting with Saj, every time he hits a boundary he comes down the wicket and tells me how good a shot it was!” Kyle Hogg after another run blitz by Sajid Mahmood.
Player of the season
Glen Chapple –The skipper has led from the front in the Championship taking 20 more wickets than anyone else, as well as chipping in with 400 runs. Passed 700 career Championship wickets during the campaign and will carry on as captain next season.
Find of the season
Simon Kerrigan – Left-arm spinner made an instant impression with seven wickets on his debut against Warwickshire as he stood in for the injured Gary Keedy and he ended the campaign with a five-for against Nottinghamshire. Displays earned him a call to practise with England ahead of the Edgbaston Test and he’s hoping for an England academy slot this winter.
Match of the season
The t20 win over Yorkshire at Old Trafford was thrilling, as were the last-over victories against the Unicorns at Colwyn Bay and Worcestershire Royals in the CB40 - but the game of the year has to be the Championship triumph over Hampshire which went down to the penultimate ball.
Delay of the season
Pick one from two – Lanky the mascot halting play as he wandered in front of the sightscreens or, after five sessions of rain, sunlight forcing the players off during the final match against Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford.
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Fair article that highlights the major batting faults over the previous seasons. This will not change without replacements to the current line-up. Look at Somerset and then look at Lancs. That is the standard we need. Horton(fingers crossed for 2011) 1,Moore 2, SHAH 3, A.N.OTHER 4,Croft 5,Cross 6,Smith 7,Mahmood 8, Chapple 9, SIDEBOTTOM 10,Keedy11.
Back -up talent is with the youngsters Proctor,Agathagelou,Clark,Parry,Kerrigan,Hogg.
I agree with much of the comment here, but feel it is a little on the rosy side. Most of the glaring weaknesses have been identified along with the worry that we cannot afford to strengthen the side a great deal between now and next season. There were a few encouraging signs, especially the advance made by Croft (at least in his batting), Smith and, rather more modestly, Hogg; the successful rehabilitation of Keedy; the indications that Cross could become a very good wicketkeeper-batsman, and the emergence of Kerrigan (whose control and variation at his age is already impressive), Parry (as a clever one-day spinner), Procter (who looks to have that special character of a born winner) and Brown who at least seems able to give one day innings a positive start. There has also been some excellent batting from Sajid Mahmood who has at last proved what a good striker he can be. (It won't work, however, if they try to put him too high up the order and thrust real 'responsibility' on his shoulders.) I always felt that Sutton should have been given more opportunities to open and that the experiment was abandoned too early. He could have played in the same team as Cross and they could have alternated wicket keeping according to the state of the game. Chapple was, of course, a marvel and was head-and-shoulders above the rest of the team as a bowler over the season as a whole, as well as contributing valuable and quickly-made runs especially earlier in the season. (Amazingly, he stayed fit until three games from the end, but Lancashire would be foolish to expect any future full seasons from him.) At times, Moore, Horton and Chilton looked good, but none of them had a really prolific season. As your correspondent suggests without the batting contributions of Prince and Chanderpaul, a relegation battle would have loomed.
The weaknesses that I and several others pointed out last Winter have not been rectified (and the club may not now be able to rectify them in the short term): two more good county batsmen are needed as they were two years ago and last year; the bowling relies too heavily on Chapple and Keedy (Sajid Mahmood might frighten batsmen with his pace, but why does he get so few of them out?) and needs both greater depth and variety. Most of all, if Lancashire are serious about winning the Championship they will have to be much more adventurous in their approach. They must take every opportunity to chase victory. Nothing told me more about the current mental state of the club than the failure to make any attempt to chase the target set by Essex back in June. Chances like that come very rarely in a season. It's no use suddenly becoming more enterprising in August when it is too late.
Looked at as a whole, the one day results were rather poor while the championship performances showed a little improvement and were slightly better than I had anticipated before the season. I fear, however, that we will not be a major power in the game for at least another few years unless we sign a top-class overseas batsman, two more good county batsmen, another seamer (preferably left-handed!) and, possibly an off-spinner unless Croft can turn himself into one.
Blue in hulme has made some great points; do the Lancashire hierarchy read these pages? I can see how Moores got Sussex transformed into a Champion county- get a right hand man (Adams), pile on a large total in the first innings, then put huge pressure on the opposition for two innings, finally wheeling out your wizard spinner in the second (Mushtaq). Bind all this together with sheer bloody- mindedness from the captain, and frankly good batting by everybody at the same time, and you tend to win. It's a no- brainer where Lancs differs from this model. Also there's a reluctance to face up to the fact, and to be over- kind where failure needs stronger remedial action, much the same as when Bumble coached England. I gather that the right players want to come here- GET 'EM IN! Also, surely the only way is up for Horton next season, he must feel he's going to wake up soon! However there is some hope for the future at least- Smith and Hogg have finally arrived- oh, and Daren Powell has disappeared over the horizon!
Erm - why no mention of Lancashire winning the Mascot Race, that counts as a trophy?
But in all seriousness this has been a good season, not spectacular and not disappointing but good. But sadly good isn't enough to satisfy the majority of people.
"And it is even more galling for Lancashire fans to watch smaller clubs with fewer resources picking up prizes at the end of the season" Trophies were won by the IPL backed Hampshire and the test match counties of Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire. Are these smaller clubs?
Everybody agrees that we need two class batsmen (either two proven county batsmen such as Shah and Van Jaarsveld or one proven county batsman plus one class overseas player like Chanderpaul)as well as a seam bowler. I don't think Sidebottom will come to Lancashire. He'll probably go to Yorkshire or stay at Notts. Some rumours said we were interested in Harris from Glamorgan. That would be a good acquisition. Young with a bright future.
The crop of young players at the club is highly promising. I feel we have the backbone of the side for the next decade with Smith, Brown, Proctor, Cross, Croft, Hogg, Cheetham, Parry, Kerrigan. Not sure whether Newby is good enough. Just behind them Clarke, ,Agathagelou and Goodwin look good prospects.
If we can supplement these players with three good signings this winter and some of the more established players perform more consistently next season (Moore, Horton, Saj with the ball) we have the makings of a competitive side in all competitions.
One aspect that worries me is we always crumple under pressure. Over the last ten years or so we have lost something like ten semi-finals, a final against Sussex when we were in pole position ..... Last season we somehow contrived to lose against Essex in the 20/20 QF when it looked easier to win. The reason - blind panic in the face of pressure.
I remember Paul Allott saying about the team of the 90s (we won if my memory serves me correctly 10 one-day cups) words to the effect that they felt they could reach any score the opposition put on the board or defend any total they scored themselves. There was an air of invincibility about the team. We need to recapture this winning mentality. Talent wins nothing without belief that you can win from any position.
If we're looking to sign an overseas player for next season (so long as we're not going to cancel it because of money problems), then bring back Andrew Symonds! We have a great coach now in Moores who should be able to harness Symonds' problems (though, would we really want to harness the player - he could have been one of the greats?).