Lancashire Spin Spring 2024

SPRING 2024 

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CLUB DIRECTORY 

Registered Office: 

Lancashire Cricket 

Emirates Old Trafford 

Talbot Road 

Manchester 

M16 OPX 

lancashirecricket.co.uk 

CONTACT INFORMATION 

Ticket Office 

03333 202833 

* 1.2p per minute plus your phone 

company’s access charge. 

tickets@lancashirecricket.co.uk 

Partnerships/Commercial 

0161 868 6725 

tforeman@lancashirecricket.co.uk 

Hospitality 

0161 868 6810 

hospitality@lancashirecricket.co.uk 

Lancashire Cricket Foundation 

0161 868 6849 

foundation@lancashirecricket.co.uk 

Lancashire Cricket official store 

0161 848 8611 

onlinestore@lancashirecricket.co.uk 

CLUB OFFICIALS 

The Board 

President: Sir Howard Bernstein 

Chair: Andy Anson 

Honorary Treasurer: Victoria Stewart 

Non-Executive Members: 

Sara Tomkins, Rachel Downey, 

James Sheridan, John Abrahams, 

Chris Peacock, Navin Singh 

Chief Executive: Daniel Gidney 

Director of Cricket 

Performance: Mark Chilton 

Chief Financial Officer: 

Angela Lowes 

Operations Director: 

Michael Hewson 

Partnerships Director: Liz Cooper 

Sales Director: Angela Hodson 

SPIN MAGAZINE 

Editor: Alex Glover 

Printed by: Stephens & George 

Produced by: 

Spring 2024 

12 

24 

FROM THE EDITOR 

Welcome to the spring edition of Lancashire 

Cricket’s Spin Magazine. 

Spin Magazine brings you the regular columns from Chair Andy 

Anson, and CEO Daniel Gidney, whilst we also hear from the 

new men’s Head Coach, Dale Benkenstein and new Thunder 

Head Coach, Chris Read, who all preview the 2024 season. 

4 Andy Anson OBE, Chair 

8 Daniel Gidney, CEO 

12 Dale Benkenstein, 

Men’s Head Coach 

18 Chris Read, Thunder Head Coach 

24 Feature interview with Tom Hartley 

32 Feature interview with Olivia Bell 

38 Photo flashback! 

40 Josh Bohannon on vice-captaincy 

44 Steven Croft, Player/Coach 

50 Dame Sarah Storey, 

President-elect 

54 Chris Benbow, 

Head of Talent Pathway 

59 Members’ Representative Group 

Update 

62 Foundation News 

66 Spin Magazine Quiz 

We also spoke to Tom Hartley as he looks back on the 

India series where he made his England debut. He also looks ahead to the 

upcoming season and the prospect of working alongside Nathan Lyon. 

In addition, we have interviews with President-elect Dame Sarah 

Storey, Thunder spinner Olivia Bell and player/coach Steven 

Croft as he takes on a new challenge this summer. 

I hope that you enjoy the edition, and we look forward to seeing you 

at Emirates Old Trafford over the course of the 2024 campaign. 

Best Wishes, 

www.ignitionsportsmedia.com 

lee.berry@ignitionsportsmedia.com 

Alex Glover | Spin Editor 

SPRING 2024 SPIN 3

Andy 

Anson 

— CHAIR — 

A 

s we approach the start of the 2024 campaign, everyone 

involved at Lancashire Cricket is very excited about what’s to 

come over the course of this season, both on and off the 

field. I am just back from spending time with our squads in India and 

there is a lot of excitement in the camp. As always, it’s going to be 

another busy 12 months, but one which we are all looking forward to. 

As we look forward to the 

season, I’d like to take this 

opportunity to thank our 7,000 

Members who have already 

signed up for 2024. Back in 

2021, it was made clear to us 

that Members wanted the Club 

to grow its membership, and 

this is exactly what we’ve done. 

The team have worked hard to 

engage our existing Members 

more effectively, but also to 

make the categories simple and 

flexible, and importantly more 

appealing to new Members. 

I’d especially like to thank the 

Members’ Representative Group 

for all their continued hard work 

– acting as the link between 

the Members and the Club. 

CRICKETING EXCELLENCE 

As I have stated before, bringing 

trophies back to Emirates 

Old Trafford is our number 

one priority. As a Club, given 

the investment that has gone 

in, we haven’t won enough 

silverware in recent years. 

Our men’s squad had a very 

promising year in 2022, 

after being runners up in 

every competition, and it was 

disappointing not to build on that 

last year. With the appointment 

of a new Head Coach, two 

overseas additions of Nathan 

Lyon and Tom Bruce, and a 

trimmed and motivated squad, 

we look forward to seeing the 

men’s squad make significant 

strides forward in 2024. 

Our Thunder squad continues 

to make great progress and it 

was pleasing to see the team 

reach their first Finals Day in 

the Charlotte Edwards Cup. 

We know that throughout 

the season – and in both 

competitions – we still need to 

be more competitive, and the 

appointment of a new Head 

Coach again reaffirms this 

commitment. With the investment 

and resources which are being 

put into the Thunder programme, 

we believe that we should be 

in a position to be winning 

trophies and this is the aim. 

We are really pleased to 

welcome both of these new 

Head Coaches to the Club. In 

Dale Benkenstein and Chris 

Read we have been lucky to 

secure two top quality coaches 

with great experience and 

we are looking forward to 

working with both. They are 

aware of the ambitions of the 

Board and the Members, that 

we want to compete strongly 

and win trophies, whilst also 

focusing on the development 

of new, young talent coming 

through our system. This is 

very important for the longterm 

health of Lancashire 

Cricket, and even more so with 

the rapid growth of franchise 

competitions around the world. 

I am pleased to confirm to our 

members that Lancashire Cricket 

has submitted a bid to become 

a Tier One domestic women’s 

team. The submission follows 

the England and Wales Cricket 

Board’s (ECB) major plans for 

the evolution of women’s cricket 

via the creation of a three-tiered 

domestic competition structure, 

starting from 2025. Given the 

4 SPIN SPRING 2024


level of investment and work 

that has gone into the Thunder 

programme over the last four 

years – and our ambitions for the 

future - we are confident that we 

will become one of the eight Tier 

One teams, which are due to be 

announced by the ECB in April. 

WORLD CLASS FACILITIES 

Last year saw the completion 

of the 15-year, £75 million 

redevelopment of Emirates Old 

Trafford after the opening of the 

100-bed hotel extension. It is 

another high-quality facility which 

will underpin the Club’s longterm 

financial position. The hotel 

extension launched in November, 

and we’ve seen strong 

occupancy rates in the initial 

first few months of business, 

which is pleasing to see. 

From a cricket perspective, 

construction work started on-site 

at our second home in Farington, 

in December. This is an exciting 

and vital project for us - one 

that we’ve been working on 

alongside Lancashire County 

Council, and we are looking 

forward to seeing the facility take 

shape over the next 12 months. 

The aim of the venue is to 

establish a new, year-round 

facility, which would host a 

number of men’s and women’s 

competitive matches each 

season, as an alternative to 

Emirates Old Trafford, and 

provide a new training base 

for Lancashire’s men’s and 

women’s teams, from agegroup 

to first team. I’d also like 

to re-affirm our commitment to 

continuing to play at our current 

outgrounds as well - as we’re 

aware they are popular with 

our Members and supporters. 

It will be the first cricket facility 

of its kind in the UK, and it will 

support the next generation of 

young cricketers coming through 

our system. Our aim is to have 

cricket take place at Farington 

by the end of next summer 

and we will keep Members 

updated on its progress 

throughout this year. We also 

want to make sure Farington 

is a ground where Members 

and supporters can really enjoy 

watching their cricket and we 

will be creating a subgroup this 

year to make sure we develop 

a cricket facility with a great 

atmosphere and environment. 

MAJOR HIGH-PROFILE EVENTS 

2024 will be another very busy 

year at Emirates Old Trafford 

– as every year seems to be! 

We look forward to hosting the 

reigning Champions Surrey in our 

opening County Championship 

game of the season, whilst 

Thunder start their campaign 

a couple of weeks later. Our 

Vitality Blast competition starts at 

the end of May, which includes 

three T20 double headers at 

Emirates Old Trafford this year. 

Thunder will also play a number 

of standalone fixtures at HQ, 

too. The 50 over Metro Bank 

Cup and The Hundred will once 

again run alongside each other 

throughout July and August. 

Emirates Old Trafford will host 

England vs Sri Lanka over the 

August Bank Holiday, before 

Australia arrives for an IT20 

in September. Meanwhile, 

the venue will also host three 

concerts this year, which are all 

sold out. We have two nights 

of the Foo Fighters (13 and 15 

June) before Green Day play a 

week later, on Friday 21 June. 

As Members are aware, hosting 

concerts – as well as our hotel 

and conference and events 

business – are vital to help the 

Club general important revenues 

to support a world class stadium 

such as Emirates Old Trafford. 

Revenues from cricket alone 

do not allow us to own and 

operate a major Test Match 

venue and ultimately all our 

profits go back into supporting 

the Club’s cricket objectives. 

LOOKING AHEAD 

As many Members will be aware, 

we continue to have discussions 

with the ECB regarding the future 

of The Hundred which may see 

external investment come into 

the game. At the time of writing, 

we have not received any formal 

proposals from the ECB on 

how this will progress, but we 

want to be as transparent as 

possible. That is why we held the 

Members’ Forum at the end of 

February and why I recorded the 

informational video before that in 


December. There is still a lot of 

discussion happening between 

the First-Class Counties and the 

ECB and we will let Members 

know when there is more 

concrete information to share. 

It is important to confirm that 

no shares of Lancashire Cricket 

would be sold to a third party 

and nor will we sell Emirates Old 

Trafford, or any Club assets. As 

a Board, we are crystal clear on 

IT IS IMPORTANT 

TO CONFIRM 

THAT NO SHARES 

OF LANCASHIRE 

CRICKET WOULD 

BE SOLD TO A 

THIRD PARTY AND 

NOR WILL WE SELL 

EMIRATES OLD 

TRAFFORD, OR ANY 

CLUB ASSETS. 

this and want Members to be 

clear also. However, there are 

elements of the ECB proposals 

that the Board are discussing, 

which Daniel has explained in 

more detail in his column. As 

further information emerges, 

we are committed to ongoing 

consultation with Members on 

the issues concerned. It is likely 

that a further Members’ Forum 

on The Hundred investment 

process will be held as soon 

as we know more– and we 

will update Members on 

that as soon as we can. 

Finally, I would like to welcome 

Dame Sarah Storey to the 

Club after she accepted a 

nomination by the Board to 

become Lancashire Cricket’s 

next President. After much 

discussion and consideration 

of suitable candidates, the 

Board unanimously supported 

the nomination of Britain’s most 

decorated Paralympian for 

the role, which has a two-year 

term. We have been seeking 

to identify a Board member 

with in-depth understanding 

of women’s elite sport which 

has been a notable gap in our 

skills matrix. We also wanted 

to find a President who is 

respected across the North West 

and nationwide. Dame Sarah 

certainly fits the bill in every way. 

At this point, I would like to 

thank Sir Howard Bernstein for 

his immeasurable contribution 

to Lancashire Cricket, after ten 

years as President. Under Sir 

Howard’s leadership, the Club 

has overcome considerable 

challenges throughout the last 

decade, and his incredible hard 

work and dedication during 

those periods has helped to 

guide us into a brighter and 

more sustainable future. He will 

be hugely missed for the role 

he has played on the Board and 

also as a trusted mentor and 

friend to me personally. He will 

always be the most welcome of 

guests at Emirates Old Trafford. 

Thanks again for all your 

support of the Red Rose and I 

look forward to seeing you at 

Emirates Old Trafford soon! 

Best Wishes, 

Andy Anson 

Chair of Lancashire Cricket 



Daniel 

Gidney 

— CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER — 

A 

s another new season rapidly approaches, there is 

an air of excitement around Emirates Old Trafford 

following the appointments of Dale Benkenstein 

(Men’s Head Coach) and Chris Read (Thunder Head 

Coach) and the sense of a new era about to begin for the 

Red Rose. 

It was fantastic to be part 

of the Club’s recent preseason 

tour where I got a 

chance to witness first-hand 

the strenuous work being 

undertaken by both of our 

new Head Coaches as they 

got stuck into some tough 

warm weather training 

sessions and warm-up 

fixtures across two weeks 

in Dubai and Bangalore. 

The pre-season tour is 

always a real highlight of 

the calendar for players and 

staff alike, as it presents the 

first opportunity for a lot of 

the players and coaches 

to get outside on the grass 

following a long winter 

spent in the Indoor Centre 

– but also with a chance 

for us to work more closely 

with our family of official 

Club partners including 

Emirates, Hilton – who for 

a third successive year 

were presenting partners of 

the pre-season tour – and 

Sportsbreaks.com who 

worked incredibly hard with 

lots of the tour logistics. 

The support which 

Lancashire Cricket receives 

from our partners is 

tremendous and in recent 

years that support has 

increased further to include 

our regional women’s team, 

Thunder. Recently, we 

announced that Hilton had 

not only increased their 

long-standing partnership 

with the Club but had also 

committed to further funding 

across the next three years 

for Thunder Cricket. This 

has given us the opportunity 

to increase Thunder’s squad 

of professional players to 

sixteen – the most of any 

region in the country – 

whilst also continuing the 

excellent work of the Hilton 

No Boundaries campaign 

and proudly providing 

Thunder with a new front 

of shirt sponsorship. 

In addition to this, as we 

look to continue leading 

the way in the domestic 

women’s cricket space, 

we were also proud to 

announce Sportsbreaks. 

com and inspiresport had 

committed a six-figure sum 

to support the continued 

development of women’s 

and girls’ cricket across 

the North West over the 

next three years. Through 

this investment, a new 


community programme has 

been created throughout 

the North West, with free 

sessions and equipment 

set to enable the next 

generation of girls’ 

cricketers to pick up a bat 

and ball for the first time – 

with Kate Cross launching 

the new initiative at 

Heywood CC. This funding 

also helped to send the 

Thunder first team squad 

on an additional pre-season 

trip to Mumbai for a spin 

bowling camp, which will 

now become an annual trip 

for the Thunder players. 

Prior to the pre-season 

tour, the first Members’ 

forum of the year took 

place in the 1864 Suite 

at Emirates Old Trafford, 

and it was fantastic to see 

such a great turn out and 

to have so many Members 

enthusiastic to learn more 

about and engage with 

the future of the Club. The 

main topic up for discussion 

on the evening was the 

future of The Hundred and 

the potential for external 

investment into Manchester 

Originals. As many of you 

will have heard on the night, 

or subsequently read in the 

FAQs sent out following 

the forum, I would like to 

re-iterate that that there 

are no plans or proposals 

for Lancashire Cricket to 

sell any shares to a third 

party, including the sale of 

Emirates Old Trafford, or 

any other club assets. This 

would not be considered. 

However, as discussed 

at the forum, the Club 

would consider receiving 

a free equity share in the 

Manchester Originals 

with Lancashire Cricket 

receiving a cash injection 

if the ECB sold a share in 

Manchester Originals - this 

money would be invested 

into Lancashire Cricket, for 

example by reducing the 

Club’s debt or put towards 

cricket infrastructure. 

When there are tangible 

plans presented by the 

ECB, we have committed 

to being transparent with 

Members - and sharing all 

the detail involved – as part 

of the Board’s process for 

making the final decision. 

Moving onto the Members’ 

Representative Group 

(MRG), firstly, I would like to 

thank both Colin Gore and 

Chris Bent – who are both 

standing down – for their 

many years of hard work 

and dedication to the MRG. 

They were both hugely 

supportive during Covid 

where they volunteered a 

huge amount of time calling 

Members to keep them 

informed of developments 

at the Club, whilst I know 

the High-Performance 

Andress Strauss review 

was also an incredibly busy 

period for them. Between 

them, they have given 15 

years to the role and leave 

the MRG in a much more 

positive place than they 

inherited. On behalf of 

everybody at the Club, we 

wish Colin and Chris all the 

best and hopefully they 

will be able to watch and 

enjoy some more cricket. 

I also wanted to provide an 

update as the group moves 

towards a new future. 

A recruitment process has 

been underway to elect 

five new members and, 

after the Nominations 

Committee approved seven 

candidates, they will now 

go forward to a vote at the 

Annual General Meeting 

(AGM) at the end of May 

when Members will elect 

five new representatives 

from the seven candidates. 

Chris Peacock (Board 

Member responsible for 

member services and 

communications) has 

played a key role in this 

process and will continue 

to work closely with the 

MRG to ensure that you 

are represented at all 

levels of the Club. 

It is set to be another 

extremely exciting summer 

at Lancashire Cricket and 

Emirates Old Trafford. With 

the additions of our two 

new Head Coaches – Dale 

Benkenstein and Chris Read 

– the overseas signings of 

Nathan Lyon and Tom Bruce 

plus welcoming England’s 

latest Test Match star Tom 

Hartley back into the fold, 

following a dream winter 

which has saw him star in 

the series against India 

– a truly proud moment 

for everybody connected 

with the Club. We are also 

hugely proud of James 

Anderson after he took his 

700th Test wicket in the 

recent series. In addition 

to this, Thunder has more 

professional players on the 

books than ever before – 

so expectations are high 

for both our men’s and 

women’s squad heading 

into the 2024 season. 

We are also set to welcome 

England Men back to 

Manchester as they take 

on Sri Lanka in the opening 

Test Match of the series 

over the August Bank 

Holiday Weekend, before 


England’s IT20 side take 

on Australia on Sunday 

15 September – a fixture 

which has long since been 

sold out as we hope to 

welcome Jos Buttler, Liam 

Livingstone, Phil Salt and 

co. following we hope 

a successful defence 

of their T20 World Cup 

title in the Caribbean 

and USA this summer. 

Off the field, our new Hilton 

Garden Inn hotel expansion 

is thriving – alongside its 

new restaurant The Edge – 

our Conference and Events 

business continues to go 

from strength to strength 

and we are also really 

excited to welcome the Foo 

Fighters and Green Day 

across three packed nights 

in the middle of June. 

I am also extremely proud 

of three new initiatives that 

have been launched by 

the Club so far in 2024. 

Firstly, the Thunder Club - a 

free subscription that will 

bring supporters closer 

to the journey of Thunder 

Cricket. It is the first of 

its kind for as a Club and 

subscribers will have access 

to a monthly Thunder Club 

newsletter - containing 

exclusive Thunder 

content – discounted 

Thunder merchandise 

on our Official Store 

plus access to exclusive 

Thunder events which 

are to be revealed soon. 

Thunder plays a number 

of standalone games at 

Emirates Old Trafford this 

year, as well as the three 

T20 doubleheaders and 

we would encourage 

Members, and their family 

and friends, to get down to 

as many games as possible. 

Secondly, we launched 

the club-wide Red Rose 

Together campaign. The 

campaign was launched 

by a stirring video which 

included Club legends 

David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd and 

Alex Hartley. The aim of 

the campaign is to highlight 

the key work being done 

by Lancashire Cricket to 

drive a love of the game 

and make cricket accessible 

to all. Here at Lancashire 

Cricket, we are committed 

to growing the Red Rose 

Family, as well as instilling 

a passion for cricket, and 

access to the game, for as 

many people as we can. 

Red Rose Together provides 

the perfect platform for a 

range of activities that will 

take place to underpin 

these key objectives. 

You can find out more 

about the campaign on 

our website and you will 

be seeing its presence 

throughout the summer. 

Finally, we continued 

our technical and digital 

innovation building on 

our investment into 

developing our Lancs TV 

media platform. During this 

year’s pre-season tour to 

India, we were delighted 

to launch a dedicated 24/7 

LancsTV channel on the 

Jio platform, which goes 

to millions of cricket-loving 

subscribers. I’d like to 

thank the team for their 

hard work on this, as it was 

not easy from a technical 

perspective. We will 

continue to build strategic 

relationships that help the 

Club, and our brand, grow 

on the subcontinent. 

On behalf of everybody at 

Lancashire Cricket, I would 

like to thank you for your 

continued support, and we 

look forward to welcoming 

you back to the venue 

throughout the season. 

Best wishes, 

Daniel Gidney 

Chief Executive Officer 



Dale 

Benkenstein 

— HEAD COACH — 

T 

o be the new men’s head coach of this club is a huge 

privilege. The history and tradition that goes behind 

Lancashire Cricket is immense, and it excites me. 

Every coach wants to be the 

best they can be, and no 

matter what happens, they 

can’t take it away from me, 

being the coach here. But I 

want to make it work and take 

the team forwards. Hopefully 

we can win some silverware 

and have an era that everyone 

remembers and talks about. 

I applied for the job and went 

through the application process, 

so I really wanted it. When 

it got offered to me, it was 

a no-brainer to take it on. 

Lancashire have always been 

tough to play against. I’ve 

enjoyed winning a few games 

against them, both as a player 

at Durham and as a coach at 

Hampshire and Gloucestershire. 

I played against Glen Chapple 

a lot, and he’s a good mate 

of mine. Chappie’s as fiery a 

character as I’ve ever come 

across and one of the best 

bowlers I faced in county cricket. 

When I spoke to the local 

media for the first time at the 

end of February, I was asked 

what my coaching style is. 

I said that I think my style will 

be a bit more relaxed than 

Chappie’s. Whether that’s 

good or not, we’ll see. But 

inside, I am very determined, 

and I want to win. 

I like to play the game the right 

way - as hard as nails on the 

field but with a respect of the 

game and of the opposition 

and your team-mates. 

I want to see the players 

take things on a bit and take 

a few risks. As much as we 

are going to work as hard as 

we can and play hard, I want 

to see smiles on faces and 

players enjoying themselves. 

This squad have had a 

few near misses in terms 

of winning trophies in the 

last couple of years. 

You expect the club to be up 

there, but winning things isn’t 

easy. Being up there all the time 

shows a real consistency in the 


way they perform, 

but to win you have 

to have that bit of 

luck. Things have 

to go your way. 

If you keep bashing 

down the door, you 

will get over the 

line eventually. 

Being in semifinals 

and finals is a 

privileged position 

to be in, and I’ve 

been involved 

in a few teams 

who have been 

in finals and have 

won things. Hopefully 

I can bring a bit of 

that experience to the 

team if we get there. 

Having spent three months 

at Emirates Old Trafford as a 

batting consultant just after 

Covid, I’ve had a bit of an 

advantage in terms of getting to 

know people. I know a lot of the 

coaches and the senior brigade 

of players pretty well, so that’s 

made settling in a bit easier 

since I arrived in February. 

There were some younger 

players who I hadn’t met and 

was able to catch up with. 

There were also a number of 

guys abroad playing cricket, 

which I was very happy about. 

That is very important from 

a cricket point of view that 

they’re playing and ticking over. 

It makes the integration into 

the season that much easier. 

Initially, it was very much two 

weeks of communication, 

phoning and facetiming, 

meeting everyone and getting 

my feet on the ground. 

I went through the offices, 

and we finished the first floor 

and I thought, ‘Jeez, that’s 

quite a lot of people’. Then we 

went to the second and third 

floors. It shows what a massive 


organisation this is, and I’m 

very proud to be a part of it. 

One person who I have known 

for a long time is Keaton 

Jennings. Keats arrived at 

Durham as an 18-year-old when I 

was captain of that side, and I’ve 

watched his whole career grow. 

I even tried to get him to 

Hampshire when I was coach 

there, but he chose Lancashire. 

I’ve never forgiven him for that! 

Cricket is one sport where the 

coach and captain relationship 

is vital. You rely on the captain 

to make good decisions out on 

the field, and you have to be 

on the same page. So, it’s great 

to be working with him again. 

In terms of our squad, there’s 

a good blend of youth and 

experience in there. And in Tom 

Bruce and Nathan Lyon, we have 

two very good overseas players. 

The exciting part is that there 

are some very good young 

players who probably haven’t 

had a lot of opportunities but 

have shown some good quality 

when they have had them. That’s 

an area I’ve got to look at - to try 

and bring those guys through. 

Over the years at Durham, 

we managed to bring some 

good young players through. 

At Hampshire as well and 

even at Gloucestershire now, 

there’s a crop of young players 

who are pretty exciting. 

We have lost Dane Vilas, and 

you don’t really replace people 

like that with everything they 

bring. But I’m excited to see 

how the players step up when 

they get that opportunity. From 

the small sample size I’ve had, 

I think there’s a real desire 

for them to make themselves 

regular first-team players. 

IN TERMS OF OUR 

SQUAD, THERE’S 

A GOOD BLEND 

OF YOUTH AND 

EXPERIENCE IN 

THERE. AND IN 

TOM BRUCE AND 

NATHAN LYON, WE 

HAVE TWO VERY 

GOOD OVERSEAS 

PLAYERS. 

Tom Bruce, one 

of Lancashire’s 

overseas players 

for the 2024 

campaign. 


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As a captain, I enjoyed nurturing 

talent - as a coach as well. I had 

six years working at a school, 

Hilton College at home in South 

Africa, and I feel that gave me 

a great insight as to how to 

nurture young players because 

you are really coaching and 

teaching them to play the game. 

As I alluded to earlier, I am 

delighted with the quality of our 

two overseas players for this 

summer, Tom and Nathan. Given 

the amount of international 

cricket being played, there’s 

a T20 World Cup right in the 

middle of our season - and the 

IPL, there’s not a lot of quality 

international players around. So 

I think the club has done well 

to get those two signed up. 

And I think it works well for 

what we need. Their skillsets 

are going to make the team 

a lot more balanced. 

I don’t think any county would 

turn down the chance to 

sign Nathan, and it’s a really 

good option for us - not only 

on the field, but off it as well. 

Nathan has his own Academy 

back home, which shows he 

has a love for the game and 

for the art of spin, wanting to 

pass that knowledge on. 

He is going to be a huge 

asset to have, especially for 

someone like Tom Hartley. He 

will have plenty of time to talk 

things through with him and 

work on things in the nets. 

That’s the same for all of our 

spinners and in the senior 

squad and pathway. Having 

Nathan here will be invaluable. 

It’s amazing what Tom has 

done for England over in India. 

I really enjoyed working with 

Tom when I was last here - 

not just as a spinner, but the 

whole package. It’s his batting, 

he’s athletic, tall, and he’s 

a really strong character. 

That was shown in the Test 

Matches when he did very 

well but was also under the 

pump on day one. That’s one 

of his biggest strengths. 

It’s credit to the work 

of everyone at the club 

with what he’s done. 

There will be a few headaches 

trying to get him into the 

team alongside Nathan, but 

it’s a great position to be in 

to have the option of playing 

two quality spinners. 

In Surrey at home and Essex and 

Hampshire away in the first three 

rounds of the Championship, 

we are playing the top three 

sides from last season. But if you 

want to be the best in the first 

division, you have got to be at 

your best every single game. 

The great thing is, the club has 

provided us with everything 

we need to be ready, be it our 

pre-season tour to Dubai and 

Bangalore and the short trip to 

Desert Springs in February which 

I went on with a group of three 

fast bowlers and Luke Wells, 

who was there working on his 

batting. There are no excuses. 

Having finished mid-table last 

year, there might be a bit less 

pressure on us. But if we come 

out of the blocks and start 

well, people will start to think, 

‘These guys mean business’. 

That is certainly the plan. 

It’s a really exciting time for 

everyone at the club and I’m 

looking forward to getting 

to know the Members and 

supporters over the coming 

weeks and months. Thank 

you in advance for all your 

support and look forward 

to seeing at Emirates Old 

Trafford very soon. 

Dale Benkenstein 

Lancashire Cricket, Head Coach 


CHRIS READ 

WELCOMING 

THUNDER’S 

NEW HEAD 

COACH 

Spin Magazine caught up with 

Chris Read, as he looks ahead 

to his first season 

as Thunder 

Head Coach, 

working with 

captain Ellie 

Threlkeld and 

what attracted 

him to the role. 


D 

T 


When life is life is 

,go, 

go, 

o go, 

o go, 

IT 

IT 

MATTERS 

TERS 

WHERE 

STAY. 

YOU 

T AY 

Y. 

Hilton 2022.

C 

hris Read’s journey with Thunder as the region’s new 

head coach has begun in exciting and eventful fashion. 

The former England men’s wicketkeeper-batter and 

Nottinghamshire captain is aiming for that to continue for quite 

some time. 

Read was appointed as Paul 

Shaw’s replacement towards 

the end of November, and he 

took up his position officially 

at Emirates Old Trafford on 

January 1. Within a couple of 

weeks, he was off to India for 

a 10-day batting camp with 

10 of his squad. In March, he 

was up and away again on 

the region’s pre-season tour 

of Dubai and Bangalore. 

It is clear the hard yards have 

been put in to try and build 

on an encouraging summer 

of 2023, which saw the Red 

Rose side reach Finals Day of 

the Charlotte Edwards Cup in 

mid-June - beaten in the semifinals 

by Southern Vipers. 

Ironically, that was actually 

the day when coach Shaw, in 

charge of Thunder for the first 

three years of the regional era, 

decided in his heart of hearts 

that it was time to step away 

from his duties in the North West 

in order to spend more time 

with his family. He had come so 

close to achieving a first piece 

of silverware. Now, that task falls 

on Read’s shoulders. But it is one 

that the 45-year-old Devonian 

is quite clearly relishing. 

“I love a positive brand of cricket, 

and I really want to encourage 

the players to play with no fear 

but also to be smart in what 

they do,” he said. “Ultimately, 

we go into every season with 

two competitions to fight for. 

We have a one in eight chance 

of winning, and I’d rather be 

at the pointy end than not.” 


Read arrives at Emirates Old 

Trafford just under six-and-a-halfyears 

post-retirement as a player 

with Notts, him playing his last 

first-class match in September 

2017. Of his 801 professional 

appearances, 51 of them were 

for England in Test and ODI 

cricket between 1999 and 2007. 

Since retirement, he has worked 

in both the men’s and women’s 

game as a coach. Before 

Christmas, he was an assistant 

coach for the Hobart Hurricanes 

in Australia’s Women’s Big 

Bash League. This, however, 

is his first head coach’s role. 

“Of late, I’ve worked in the 

women’s game at franchise level, 

with the Trent Rockets and then 

the Hurricanes,” he explained. 

“In the preceding years, I’ve 

done a fair amount of work in the 

men’s game as well. I worked 

with the ECB as a wicketkeeping 

consultant, working the Under 

19s programme as well. 

“Certainly, in terms of the last few 

months, working in the women’s 

Big Bash has been really great, 

seeing how different squads 

and competitions operate, 

especially in a country which 

has been leading the way in 

women’s cricket for a while. 

“I’m really pleased to be here. It’s 

a wonderful setting at Emirates 

Old Trafford. The support we’ve 

got from the club is fantastic, 

and it’s a great group of girls 

who are really keen to learn. I’m 

excited to take things forward.” 

Read was asked what attracted 

him to apply for the role and 

continued: “The size and scope 

of the role, the facts we have 

the backing from Lancashire 

and region and we’re based out 

of a fantastic stadium. We’re in 

a fantastic place with the work 

Paul Shaw has done over the 

last three years since Thunder 

was set up, and there’s a good 

Academy and EPP running 

below the main squad. 

“There are not many professional 

head coach’s roles in the UK 

that come up for grabs, and one 

of this magnitude was always 

going to pique my interest. It’s 


THE RELATIONSHIP 

WITH ELLIE IS 

GOING TO BE 

CRUCIAL, AND I 

ALREADY FEEL LIKE 

SHE IS A FANTASTIC 

LEADER AT THE 

YOUNG AGE SHE IS. 

a wonderful opportunity for me 

to develop as a head coach.” 

Read’s distinguished playing 

career included two County 

Championship title-winning 

campaigns down at Trent Bridge, 

one of them as captain in 2010. 

Ironically, they won the title that 

year having secured enough 

bonus points in a draw against 

Lancashire at the place he now 

calls home, Emirates Old Trafford. 

“There’s a lot to be transferred 

from the 10 years I did leading 

Nottinghamshire,” he continued. 

“Ultimately, as captain, you’re 

trying to win games of cricket 

and trophies. I think as a 

head coach, I’ll take a similar 

philosophy into that. We’re 

here to compete and win, and 

I want to build a squad that is 

comfortable in doing that.” 

Read’s arrival is particularly 

good news for Thunder’s band 

of wicketkeepers. Mind you, 

the likes of Ellie Threlkeld and 

co have been spoilt given that 

was also Shaw’s specialism. 

“The relationship with Ellie is 

going to be crucial, and I already 

feel like she is a fantastic leader 

at the young age she is,” he 

added. “Whilst I really want to 

help develop her as a captain, 

I want to help develop her as 

a player and her individual 

aspirations to potentially go 

on to higher honours because 

she’s an exceptional cricketer. 

“I certainly feel like I’ve forged 

some strong relationships with 

all the girls over the last few 

months, not least because 

we took 10 of them out to 

Mumbai on that batting camp 

in January. I got to know 

them at pretty close quarters 

there. It’s been brilliant.” 



TOM HARTLEY 

MY ‘DREAM 

COME TRUE’ 

WINTER 

Lancashire left-arm spinner Tom Hartley 

reflects on the start to his England career this 

winter and looks ahead to the 2024 season 

and playing alongside Nathan Lyon. 


Six and Out 

Quick-fire Q&A 

with Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer, Hill Dickinson 

One 

Two 

Best cricketer of all time? 

Shane Warne – great bowler who could bat, fantastic cricketing brain, 

insightful commentator. 

Favourite commentator? 

On TV: Michael Atherton. On the radio: Jonathan Agnew. 

Three Dickie Bird or Steve Bucknor? 

Dickie Bird. 

Four 

Five 

Six 

Most memorable match? 

The most recent Test I’ve been to – England v India 

at Hyderabad at the end of January. Tom Hartley! 

Do you play? 

Not anymore. Used to play very badly for 

Liverpool CC 4th team. If we’d had a 5th team 

at that time, I’d have been in it. 

Hill Dickinson relationship with LCCC? 

The partnership was my idea, 20 years ago. 

It’s been a pleasure to see it flourish. 

Win! 

“Scan the QR code now for your chance 

to win a genuine signed LCCC match ball.” 

hilldickinson.com

T 

om Hartley has had one heck of a winter. If the 

summer goes close to matching it, that could spell 

fabulous news for all connected with Lancashire 

Cricket. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the left-arm spinner could 

follow a nine-wicket Test Match debut by playing a part in a 

County Championship title triumph. 

“Hartley has just played a 

full part in England’s Test 

series in India, claiming 

an impressive 22 wickets 

in five appearances, 

including a career best 

haul of 7-62 in the second 

innings of his debut at 

Hyderabad in late January. 

That England won that match 

- their only triumph in a 4-1 

series defeat - made it all the 

more special for the Ormskirk 

native, who had only played 

20 career first-class matches 

going into the series. 

“It’s been fantastic,” said 

Hartley, reflecting on his first 

experience of international 

cricket. “I came into it 

not knowing how much 

involvement I’d have in 

the series, but the way it’s 

panned out has been a 

dream come true. It’s just 

nice that I’ve been able to 

have an impact on the field.” 

To set the scene, we are 

talking to the 24-year-old 

two days before the final 

Test Match in Dharamsala in 

early March. England went 

on to lose that match by 

an innings, their heaviest 

defeat of a series which saw 

India come from 1-0 down. 

It was a strange old series 

because, in many ways, 

England weren’t hammered. 

They didn’t take a backwards 

step at any point - as 

you would expect under 

Brendon McCullum and 

Ben Stokes - and landed 

some significant blows. 

Before going back to talking 

about his own contributions, 

Hartley said: “I feel like 

we’ve really tested them, 

put them on the back foot 

and had some great days. 

Unfortunately, we’ve just 

not been able to back 


them up. We definitely feel 

like it’s a series which is 

tighter than the scoreline 

suggests. But they’ve shown 

their class under pressure, 

so fair play to them.” 

So let us rewind to before 

the series. Hartley had been 

selected as one of four 

frontline spinners in England’s 

touring party, alongside 

Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach 

and fellow new tourist 

Shoaib Bashir, the teenaged 

off-spinner from Somerset. 

When the latter was ruled 

out of the first Test because 

of visa issues, and the 

England management 

signalled their intentions 

to play three spinners at 

Hyderabad, Hartley was 

set for a magic moment. 

He said: “We saw the wicket, 

I had a feeling I might play. 

Then, two days out, Baz 

(coach, McCullum) gave me 

the nod, so I had a bit of 

time to sleep on it, which 

helped settle me into it. 

“He also jokingly talked 

about me opening the 

bowling, and I thought, ‘That’s 

weird’. Then I realised when 

we were only playing one 

seamer that he wasn’t joking 

and wouldn’t be far wrong!” 

So, how were the nerves? 

“They were good,” he 

continued. “Luckily, the way 

it panned out, we managed 

to bat first. Getting a few 

runs on the board down 

the order (23 in the first 

innings) really helped to 

calm me down a lot.” 

As we know, things didn’t 

start swimmingly for Hartley, 

who was handed his Test 

cap by Lancashire and 

England legend Michael 

I HAD TO UNDERSTAND 

THAT THINGS WOULD 

HAPPEN ON THAT PITCH 

IN THE SECOND INNINGS, 

AND I HAD TO HANG IN 

RATHER THAN FORCE IT. 

Atherton, who was out in 

India on media duties. 

After England had been 

bowled out for 246, he 

was handed the new ball 

alongside speedster Mark 

Wood. But the Lancashire 

man’s first ball was slog 

swept for six by opener 

Yashasvi Jaiswal, and 

his first nine-over spell 

cost him 63 runs. 

“Watching the first innings, it 

spun a bit,” recalled Hartley. 

“Despite not knowing fully 

how the opposition played, 

I thought they might come 

after me. But maybe not 

to that extent. You always 

want your first spell in any 

team, especially Test Cricket, 

to go well. And it was a 

frustration. But thankfully, 

we got the last laugh in 

by winning the match.” 

Speaking to Hartley, 

it is clear that he was 

fairly relaxed about his 

challenging start to life at 

the top level - something 

which he confirmed. 


“Personally, I felt like I bowled 

fine,” he said. “Coming out 

of the hand, it felt pretty 

good to be honest with 

you. There have definitely 

been times when I’ve 

bowled worse, so there’s not 

much to be upset about. 

“Jaiswal is a very good 

batter, and the rest of their 

line-up are as well. There 

was no need to be too down 

on myself even though I’d 

have liked to show what I 

can do right from the start. 

But I had to understand 

that things would happen 

on that pitch in the second 

innings, and I had to hang 

in rather than force it.” 

England fought back 

brilliantly. After India were 

bowled out for 436 - gaining 

a first-innings lead of 190 - 

Ollie Pope hit a stunning 196 

to underpin a second-innings 

total of 420, thus setting a 

victory target 231 on day four. 

The hosts were favourites, 

but it would be a challenging 

task on a deteriorating pitch. 

It proved too challenging, 

and thankfully Hartley was 

the man of the moment. 

On the back of two firstinnings 

wickets, he claimed 

a stunning 7-62 from 

26.2 overs as India were 

bowled out for 202. Big 

guns Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma 

and Shubman Gill were 

amongst his victims, while 

he also took the winning 

wicket of Mohammed Siraj. 

“It’s my career highlight,” 

said Hartley. “It’s going 

to be tough for me to top 

that. The way it panned 

out, it was so special. I 

was grateful to Popey for 

batting the way he did. He 

created that opportunity for 

us. It’s what you dream of.” 

One thing that should not 

go unmentioned is the way 

captain Stokes dealt with 

Hartley. When he was under 

the cosh in the first innings, 

it would have been very 

easy to whip him out of the 

attack and throw the ball to 

someone else. But he didn’t. 

He trusted his young spinner 

to pull through. It was a 

brilliant piece of captaincy. 

“That’s the way his captaincy 

style is. Even though balls 

were going over and to 

the boundary, I still felt 

like I was in the game,” 

continued Hartley. “When 

the ball’s in the air, there’s 

always a chance for a catch 

isn’t there. That’s what 

he wants - for players to 

create chances for him. 

“To put that trust in me 

was fantastic, and I’d like 

to think that I repaid him 

in the second innings.” 


Through the rest of the 

series, Hartley added another 

13 wickets, including a threefor 

and a four-for, as India 

turned things around. From 

the second Test onwards, 

he actually played the role 

of the senior spinner given 

Leach went home after 

Hyderabad with a knee injury. 

“There were probably times 

when I thought I could have 

done a little bit better,” 

he said, assessing his 

overall contributions. “But if 

someone had told me before 

the start of the series that I’d 

pass 20 wickets, I wouldn’t 

have believed them. So I 

can’t be too upset with it. 

“I’ve had so much fun. It’s 

a brilliant environment to 

play in. I’ve non-stopped 

laughed, and my cheeks 

are pretty sore! 

“There’s been such a good 

vibe around the group - both 

on the field and off it. In 

between Tests, we’ve had 

a lot of fun, played golf and 

come back refreshed ahead 

of each Test, which is nice. 

Just the confidence the 

staff put in you is brilliant. 


They build you up so much, 

and I feel like that’s why 

I’ve bowled some of the 

best stuff in my career. 

There’s no pressure at all.” 

Expanding on his comment 

about bowling some of 

the best stuff in his career, 

Hartley went on: “It’s not that 

I’m bowling any more or less 

than I have in the past or 

I’m doing anything special, 

it’s just having that correct 

mindset - to create chances 

and try and take wickets 

all the time. That seems to 

have clicked well with me, 

and I’m sure it’s the same 

with all the other bowlers.” 

In the final Test of the series, 

at Dharamsala, Hartley saw 

his Red Rose team-mate 

Jimmy Anderson claim the 

700th wicket of his Test 

Match career. He described 

being on hand to witness it 

as a “proud moment” and 

said: “Jimmy’s been great 

and is a nice person to have 

in the changing room. On 

the field, it’s been great 

to talk to him and get his 

point of view on things.” 

So, having set the wheels in 

motion on what we all hope 

will be a long and fruitful Test 

career, Hartley now turns 

his attentions to the county 

summer and Lancashire’s 

pursuit of silverware. And it 

is a pursuit he is confident 

will be a successful one. 

“For sure,” he said. “We’ve 

got some good recruits and 

a new coach coming in, and 

I think everyone will be really 

keen to impress. From what 

I’ve heard, the lads have 

been doing really well this 

winter. I don’t see why we 

can’t give it a good crack. 

“We go into this season a bit 

disappointed with how we 

finished last year because 

we know we had more in 

the tank. But we’re definitely 

positive for this season.” 

Hartley’s situation at Emirates 

Old Trafford ahead of 2024 

has become a topic of 

significant discussion, given 

his success with England 

and the county’s statement 

signing of Australian spin 

legend Nathan Lyon as 

an overseas player. 

How easy will it be for new 

coach Dale Benkenstein to 

manage having an England 

spinner and an Australian 

great in his squad when 

it is not always possible 

to play two spinners 

in the same team? 

That is not something Hartley 

is particularly concerned 

about, the youngster more 

than happy to pick the 

brains of an off-spinner he 

has always looked up to. 

“Playing in England in April, 

it’s never a great time for 

a spinner. But you never 

know, we might get some 

better weather,” he added. 

“Whatever will be will be. 

I’m not too stressed. It 

would be nice to play every 

game. But, at the same time, 

you have to think about 

what’s best for the team. 

“Having spoken to Benky, 

he’s pretty keen to play 

us both as much as he 

can. He wants to bowl as 

much spin as possible. I 

can’t wait to bowl together 

with Nathan and create 

a strong partnership. 

“Nathan’s the king of bowling 

on pretty flat wickets and 

of overspin as well. He’s 

somebody who I almost 

want to become, and I 

want to learn as much 

as I can from him.” 



OLIVIA BELL: 

MEMORABLE 

FIRST 

YEAR WITH 

THUNDER 

Scotland international Olivia 

Bell – who has recently signed 

her first full time contract 

with Thunder – reflects on 

her first breakthrough 

year at Emirates Old 

Trafford, after making 

her debut last May. 


O 

livia Bell has been 

reflecting on 

making her senior 

regional debut for Thunder 

last May - against double 

winners Southern Vipers 

at the Ageas Bowl - and 

has admitted: “I still 

haven’t got down from 

that high, and I’m ready to 

do that again and again.” 

Off-spinning all-rounder 

Bell, 20, made quite the 

impact during the second 

half of 2023, the Scotland 

international ending the 

campaign as Thunder’s 

Young Player of the Year. A 

haul of 25 wickets in eight 

appearances makes it easy to 

see why. She was Thunder’s 

leading wicket-taker in the 

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy 

with 14 in only four outings. 

Bell - a Stockport-born 

Tartan twirler who you can 

call Liv if you want to - has 

spoken to Lancashire’s 

in-house media team for 

a wide-ranging interview 

about her journey from a 

junior at Stockport Georgians 

to representative cricket 

with Cheshire and then to 

a fully-fledged professional 

at Emirates Old Trafford. 

And one thing is abundantly 

clear. Here is a hugely 

talented cricketer who 

has encountered highs 

and low along the way but 

has a burning desire to be 

the very best that she can 

be. That is fantastic news 

for everyone connected 

with Red Rose at heart. 

Before we rewind to start 

of Bell’s career, let’s look 

back to last summer, which 

saw her claim a trio of fourwicket 

hauls, two in the 

50-over Rachael Heyhoe 

Flint Trophy and another 

in the Charlotte Edwards 

Cup, against the Vipers in 

the semi-final at New Road 

in mid-June. Unfortunately, 


it didn’t contribute to a 

victory, but an 18-run defeat 

chasing 192 represented a 

spirited performance from 

Thunder at their maiden 

Finals Day appearance. 

“I think we played very well, 

and it was a very competitive 

game up until the last couple 

of overs,” she said. “We got 

close to winning, and it wasn’t 

ever comfortable for them. If 

anything, it showed that the 

future is looking good for us.” 

Bell started the summer as 

an Academy cricketer with 

a few doubts to quell. She 

explained: “In terms of 2023, 

off the back of 2022, I wasn’t 

really sure whether I’d be 

retained in the Academy. 

I hadn’t had a very good 

year or played very well. 

I hadn’t really contributed 

much to the team. 

“Alongside that, I was just 

joining the Scotland set-up. 

I’d just been to the World 

Cup Qualifiers with the senior 

team, playing alongside 

some big players like the 

Bryces, Rachel Slater and 

Abtaha Maqsood, and I was 

thinking, ‘I’m not at the same 

level, I’m nowhere near’. 

“Going into the 2023 summer, 

I’d just played the Under 19s 

World Cup (in South Africa 

in January), and it had given 

me extra hunger to think, 

‘This is what I want to do’. 

“I trained very hard at the 

back end of the winter. From 

there, I was looking to be a 

senior player in the Academy. 

I hadn’t really registered 

that the senior team would 

be an option because I 

didn’t quite feel there yet. 

“But it ended up, with a few 

injuries and Alex Hartley 

not being around, that a 

spot opened up. That’s 

the beauty of cricket - stuff 

can change so easily. 

Bell made her senior debut 

in a Charlotte Edwards T20 

game against the Vipers at 

the Ageas Bowl on May 31, 

claiming an encouraging 

2-29 in a defeat. 

“A couple of weeks before 

that, Paul Shaw had spoken 

to me and said that they 

wanted to bring me into the 

squad,” she continued. “It was 

early days of the Charlotte 

Edwards Cup, and I subbed 

for a couple of games and 

loved it. I realised it was 

exactly where I wanted to be. 

“Then, just before the team 

was announced for the Vipers 

game, Shawsy and Stephen 

Parry came to me and said, 


‘We want you to play’. That 

was at the Ageas Bowl, 

and I remember being like, 

‘Wow’. To make my debut at a 

stadium like that was unreal.” 

As aforementioned, Bell still 

has the glow from that day, 

with a keenness for more 

of the same fostering a 

determination to work hard 

and develop as a cricketer. 

After that game, Thunder 

were on the back foot in that 

competition but went on a 

winning run to reach Finals 

Day, including a memorable 

win over arch-rivals Northern 

Diamonds at Blackpool. 

“You could see on everyone’s 

faces how much it meant,” 

she said. “It maybe wasn’t 

everyone’s first Finals Day, 

but it was in a Thunder shirt. 

That was unreal, and I’m 

very glad I was part of it. 

“Personal confidence then 

grew throughout the season. 

By the end, I felt pretty 

good. I still didn’t expect to 

get that kind of recognition 

at the awards evening, but 

I’m very grateful for that 

award. Now, it’s a case of, 

‘What else can I do?’” 

Bell was subsequently 

handed a maiden 

professional contract, 

owing much to 

increased funding 

provided by the 

club’s partners, Hilton 

Hotels: “Finding out 

that I was getting a fulltime 

contract as a young 

player in the grand 

scheme of things was unreal, 

and it gives you that security 

and support to throw yourself 

into everything,” she said. 

But how did she get 

to that point? 

She recalled: “I started 

playing football, rugby and 

cricket at four or five. My 

dad’s quite sporty, and he 

got us into it all of those 

sports - myself, my brother 

and my sister. The other 

sports then dropped off, 

and I took on cricket as a 

main sport at 12 or 13.” 

Cricket at Stockport 

Georgians helped pave the 

way for successful trials with 

Cheshire, for whom she 

played age-group cricket 

before progressing 

through to 

the Thunder 

Academy. 

“The route to a career 

wasn’t really clear because 

Cheshire had just disbanded 

their senior women’s team. 

They couldn’t afford it,” she 

said. “You would get to 18 

and kind of drop out of the 

system. Luckily, for me, when 

I was 16 or 17, I got picked 

up in the Lancs system - 

the Thunder Academy. 

“It still didn’t feel like a 

career option until 18 or 

19 when you’d get your 

pay as you play contracts 

and stuff like that. 

“When I joined the Academy, 

I was immediately like, 

‘This is a step up from my 

county stuff’. Of course it 

was because of the (extra) 

funding. The background stuff 

like the sports science and 

medicine was the biggest 

jump and the biggest help. 

“I was playing with and 

against who I saw as the next 

generation of cricketers. A lot 

of the girls in the Academies 

were in the Under 19s World 

Cup. It was a huge jump, but 

it made me a better player.” 

Bell makes it clear how 

grateful she is - and how 

lucky she feels - for the help 

and support she has received 

from within the Lancashire 

and Thunder set-up, 

describing it as “the best in 

the country”. And she is under 

no illusions that things could 

have been very different. 

“It has made life so much 

easier,” she added. “The 

career path has simply 

been easier than say an 

Ellie Threlkeld or a Kate 

Cross given the support and 

backing. That’s something 

that they didn’t get. I don’t 

doubt that my career would 

have been very different, 

and I wouldn’t be in the 

position I am now so young, 

had I started the way they 

started. I have to be very 

grateful for that.” 


NINETIES 

FLASHBACK 

David Hughes and Mike Watkinson 

with the Benson and Hedges 

Trophy after beating Worcestershire 

at Lord’s in 1990. 



JOSH BOHANNON: 

INTRODUCING 

LANCASHIRE’S 

NEW 

VICE-CAPTAIN 



J 

osh Bohannon has described his new role as 

Lancashire’s vice-captain as “really exciting” - 

the Red Rose run machine’s appointment as 

Keaton Jennings’ number two just another example of 

how quickly his game is developing. 

Bohannon’s elevation into 

the squad’s leadership group 

was confirmed during the 

first half of the pre-season 

tour to Dubai and Bangalore 

last month. 

Here is a player whose 

career is going from strength 

to strength at significant 

pace. There have been pinch 

me moments aplenty during 

the last 12 months or so. 

Last summer, he finished 

as the leading run-scorer in 

Division One of the County 

Championship, his haul of 

1,257 runs from 14 matches 

including four centuries with 

a best of 175. It was form 

which saw him named as 

Lancashire’s Championship 

Player of the Year and the 

club’s overall Player of the 

Year. 

Then, in January, Bohannon 

was the England Lions 

captain during their red ball 

tour of India, which saw 

them play three four-day 

matches against the home 

A side (India won 2-0). He 

scored an excellent 125 from 

his customary number three 

in the order in the series 

opener in Ahmedabad, 

sharing a second-wicket 

century partnership with 

Jennings in the first innings. 

Jennings made 154. 

The partnership worked well 

on that occasion, and now it 

continues in a wider context. 

Bohannon, soon to turn 27, 

said of the vice captaincy: 

“We’ve been chatting about 

it for a while now, me and 

Keats. And then when Benky 

(Dale Benkenstein) came in 

as Head Coach, he was on 

board with it all. 

“It’s just to help them and 

the other staff, to give them 

some support on the field 

and off it. 

“It’s really exciting for me 

to do, and some of the 

experiences I’ve had in 

the winter will hopefully 

set me in good stead for it. 

It’s a massive honour and 

something I’m really looking 

forward to getting stuck into. 

For my family and my home 

club - Farnworth Social Circle 

- it’s a proud moment.” 

IT’S A MASSIVE HONOUR 

AND SOMETHING 

I’M REALLY LOOKING 

FORWARD TO GETTING 

STUCK INTO. FOR MY 

FAMILY AND MY HOME 

CLUB - FARNWORTH 

SOCIAL CIRCLE - IT’S A 

PROUD MOMENT. 

It’s not just last season 

which saw Bohannon 

shine. His form over the 

last three campaigns has 

been exceptional. In 42 

Championship matches 

since the start of 2021, he 

has scored 2,915 runs with 

nine hundreds, a best of 231 

and an average of 51.14. In 

that time, his standing in the 

dressing room at Emirates 

Old Trafford has naturally 

increased courtesy of form 

and experience. 

“I try my best to do as much 

leadership in the dressing 

room and to help Keats on 

the field anyway, so I don’t 

think from that perspective 

this changes much,” he 

continued. 

“I think we’ll find ourselves 

chatting a bit more than we 

might usually do, or other 


people will perhaps come to 

me a little bit more than they 

have done in the past. 

“I also need to make sure 

I’m being the best version of 

me, doing everything I can to 

help other people, whether 

that being in the game or 

being there to chat. It’s about 

making sure that everyone is 

enjoying their cricket.” 

On the Lions tour of India, 

Bohannon led a squad 

including five players who 

had all played senior Test 

Match cricket for England; 

Jennings being one and 

Brydon Carse, Matthew 

Fisher, Alex Lees 

and Matthew Potts 

the others. Fellow 

Boltonian Callum 

Parkinson, the ex-Lancashire 

age-group spinner now at 

Durham, was also on the trip. 

“It was great fun,” reflected 

Bohannon, who is confident 

his new job at Lancashire 

can elevate his game even 

further. 

“I’ve always enjoyed 

responsibility. I feel like it 

gets the best out of me. 

Trying to help other people, 

I’ve always found that it 

helps my game as well.” 

Bohannon was part of 

Lancashire’s pre-season 

tour of Dubai and Bangalore, 

where they trained and 

played a mixture of T20 and 

red ball cricket. 

It was an opportunity for 

the squad to gel once more 

before a long, challenging 

and exciting summer after 

various members had been 

playing cricket abroad. 

“The more people we’ve 

got away during the winter, 

the better,” added the new 

vice-captain. “As good as the 

Indoor School is at Lancs, 

there’s nothing better than 

being outside practicing your 

skills or competing on grass 

wickets. It’s brilliant. 

“But it’s been good to get 

everyone back together, and 

everyone is raring to go. It’s 

a really exciting few years 

that we’ve got in store given 

the talent that we’ve got in 

this squad.” 



STEVEN CROFT: 

REFLECTING 

ON A 

RED ROSE 

CAREER 

Freelance journalist 

Paul Edwards caught up with 

Steven Croft ahead of the 2024 

campaign, as he calls time on 

his First Class and 50 over 

career. The 39 year-old, who 

has signed a T20 contract with 

Lancashire, will also be part of 

Dale Benkenstein’s coaching 

staff. 


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I 

n the early weeks of the 2016 season, James 

Vince was being tipped to make his England 

debut in the first Test match against Sri Lanka at 

Headingley. So it was no surprise when my commission 

from The Times to cover Hampshire’s match at Emirates 

Old Trafford was accompanied by the terse instruction to 

make sure I wrote about Vince’s contribution. As events 

turned out, it was fairly easy for me to comply. In the 

seventh over of the first day, Jimmy Adams was caught 

at third slip by Karl Brown off James Anderson and a 

moment or two later, Vince strolled languidly out to the 

middle. At which point, perhaps we should let ESPN 

Cricinfo’s correspondent take up the story: 

“That wicket brought 

Hampshire’s captain to the 

crease and it turned the 

attention of some spectators 

to Vincewatch, the sub-plot 

of this day’s sport. Both 

the England coach, Trevor 

Bayliss, and the national 

selector, James Whitaker, 

were at this game to see 

Vince bat before they sit 

down to pick the side to play 

Sri Lanka at Headingley As 

it turned out, the subject 

of their gaze offered little 

evidence as to what sort 

of form he was in before 

being run out for nought by 

fielding which would have a 

place of honour in any game 

of international cricket. 

True, Vince played and 

missed on three occasions 

to Anderson but such 

indignities have been visited 

on the best players in the 

world over the last decade. 

Then he pushed a ball 

from Kyle Jarvis past the 

bowler and called Michael 

Carberry for a single without 

realising that Steven Croft 

was already sprinting 

across from mid-on to do 


the fielding. Croft stopped 

the ball with his left hand, 

transferred it to his right 

and threw down the stumps 

when still on the ground with 

Vince well short of safety.” 

Steven Croft’s career has 

been full of such moments; 

they tumble unbidden 

from memory: Crofty 

making a hundred against 

Worcestershire at Blackpool 

in 2011, the Championship 

year; Crofty cutting Craig 

Meschede through point 

less than a month later 

and hugging Karl Brown in 

the middle at Taunton in 

the moments after the title 

was sealed; Crofty making 

another century at Stanley 

Park, this time against 

Nottinghamshire in the 2022 

Royal London Cup quarterfinal; 

Crofty walking into the 

media room at Edgbaston 

sporting a smile as wide 

as the press box after 

Lancashire had at last won 

the T20 Blast in 2015. 

Yes, there have been rough 

days, too, and Simon Harmer 

features in at least one of 

them. But as Lancashire 

supporters look forward 

to a season in which Croft 

will play only T20 cricket, 

such recollections will be 

outnumbered by those 

in which one of their 

favourite players rose 

grittily to whatever occasion 

presented itself. And when 

games went down the 

gurgler there was never any 

doubting that this Lancashire 

cricketer understood what 

it meant to the supporters. 

So, when we chatted about 

that 2011 season, it was only 

natural that Croft should 

think about the supporters’ 

emotional investment. 

“I remember the whole 

twelve months”, he told the 

Cricketer. “You always say 

you want to win everything, 

but that Championship 

season just snowballed. 

Although we had a great 

overseas in Farveez 

Maharoof, the core of the 

side was a group of young 

Lancastrians who had played 

together for some time. It just 

went on and on and even on 

the last day at Taunton we 

didn’t think we were going 

to win it. But it really sank in 

when you took the trophy 

around to the local clubs 

and many people had never 

seen Lancashire win a title – 

you saw how much winning 

the Championship meant to 

people.” 

That connection with 

supporters comes very 

naturally to Croft. He learned 

his cricket at Blackpool 

and would understand the 

pride felt by folk around the 

county even if he hadn’t 

played over a hundred 

games in the Northern 

League or turned out for 

Lytham in the Liverpool 

Competition. It is doubtful 

whether any professional 

enjoys outground matches 

more than Croft so it follows 

that he has mixed feelings 

about the redevelopment of 

Emirates Old Trafford. On the 

one hand, he accepts that 

Lancashire’s headquarters 

has been turned into “a 

world-class facility” and the 

changes have included the 

building of a Players and 

Media Centre suitable for 

the development of élite 

athletes. (Readers should 

note that I’m referring only to 

the cricketers here, although 

one of two journalists have 

managed an improbable 

turn of speed when the bars 

open.) 

For after nearly two decades 

in Lancashire’s first team, 


Croft is now adjusting to 

a new life in which he will 

spend far more of his time 

coaching the club’s batters 

or helping out with the 

second team. 

“In the middle of last season, 

I chatted about my future 

with Mark Chilton and I knew 

my four-day cricket was 

going to come to an end,” 

he said. “The wheels were 

in motion for me to step into 

a coaching role. At first, I 

reckoned I still had the will 

and fitness to play all forms 

but after a couple of weeks I 

thought it was a good move 

to go into coaching while I 

still had the chance to play 

as well. I went out to coach 

the Canterbury state side in 

New Zealand this winter and 

that was great experience.” 

There seemed every chance 

Croft would have begun 

to gain such experience 

three years ago. But his 

performances during a 

series of one-year contracts 

– he made 1770 runs in all 

formats in 2022 – made him 

indispensable at a time when 

a clutch of younger players 

were not quite ready to take 

on senior responsibilities. 

“I went into each of those 

seasons thinking it will be 

my last,” he said. “And it’s 

worked really. Even since 

then I’ve thought: ‘Let’s go 

back to enjoying cricket’. 

And I’ve taken it back to 

when I first played.” 

Which is rather why it will 

always be impossible to label 

Croft a veteran. He retains 

the boyish enthusiasm that 

helped him fit into a side 

bursting with world-class 

cricketers like Stuart Law, 

Andrew Flintoff, Muttiah 

Muralitharan and VVS 

Laxman. That enthusiasm 

added to great talent and 

bucketloads of guts have 

resulted in him coming to 

the end of his career having 

scored 19996 runs, taken 

216 wickets and pouched 

428 catches in all formats. 

And 598 of his 635 first-team 

appearances have been for 

Lancashire. (Two winters in 

New Zealand account for the 

remainder.) 

Yet even as he settles into 

his coaching role, one 

senses that Croft nurses the 

hope that there might just be 

a few more floodlit evenings 

left to savour, preferably the 

Roses matches, of course, 

but maybe Finals Day, too. 

Nobody this side of the 

Pennines would begrudge 

him a final hurrah. 

“I feel like I’m still one of our 

leading T20 players and it 

fits well that I should be a 

player for around six weeks 

or so,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll 

still get stuck in as much as I 

ever did in that format but I’m 

not going to be ordering any 

white kit. It’s something I’m 

at peace with, I’ve given it a 

good crack and even if my 

whole playing career ended 

today, I’m happy with what 

I’ve done. I’ve had a great 

ride.” 

Croft – reflecting on the year 

ahead for the Red Rose - is 

positive about Lancashire’s 

recruitment, believing the 

I THOUGHT IT WAS A 

GOOD MOVE TO GO INTO 

COACHING WHILE I STILL 

HAD THE CHANCE TO 

PLAY AS WELL. I WENT 

OUT TO COACH THE 

CANTERBURY STATE SIDE 

IN NEW ZEALAND THIS 

WINTER AND THAT WAS 

GREAT EXPERIENCE. 

slimmed down squad will 

provide valuable first-team 

opportunities for the club’s 

wealth of recent academy 

graduates. Overseas 

signings Nathan Lyon and 

Tom Bruce, meanwhile, 

address clear weaknesses in 

the squad. 

“I think we’ve recruited 

really well. Nathan Lyon is 

one of the best spin bowler 

around, and possibly of 

all time in Test cricket, so 

I think that’s exactly what 

we need at Emirates Old 

Trafford to force results. He 

will help balance the attack 

really well, whether it’s in an 

attacking role or a holding 

role. 

“Tom Bruce in the middle 

order, he’s a smart signing. 

Before we signed him, that 

was an area we needed to 

strengthen and looking at 

his record in white ball and 

red ball, he’s got a fantastic 

record. It’s a great time in 

his career to come over and 

he’s got experience of being 

captain as well. 

“Throw in the likes of Belly 

[George Bell], [George] 

Balderson, [Tom] Aspinwall, 

[Matty] Hurst – they got 

opportunities last year and 

performed in the 1st XI so it’s 

an exciting spot to be in, with 

a good blend of youth and 

experience.” 


DAME SARAH STOREY: 

BRITAIN’S 

MOST 

DECORATED 

PARALYMPIAN 

ON HER 

PRESIDENCY 

NOMINATION 



W 

hen you look down the list of Dame Sarah Storey’s career 

honours as an athlete, one thing is abundantly clear. The 

Paralympic legend absolutely loves silverware. So, it was 

no surprise to hear her talking up the chances of Lancashire and 

Thunder for this summer when she was nominated as the county’s 

new president at the start of March. 

Storey is Great Britain’s most 

decorated Paralympian - and one 

of the world’s greatest as well. 

As a swimmer and then cyclist, 

she has claimed an incredible 28 

medals across eight games. That 

haul includes 17 gold medals, and 

the 46-year-old hopes to add to 

that tally in Paris later this summer. 

Mancunian Storey, whose home 

club is Disley Cricket Club, 

was unanimously nominated 

by Lancashire’s Board to take 

over the club’s presidency 

from outgoing Sir Howard 

Bernstein on a two-year term. 

This will be formally ratified 

at the next Annual General 

Meeting at the end of May. 

Storey comes from a cricket loving 

family: “I started my cricketing 

journey as a child, like anyone 

would tell you,” she said. “My 

brother is an avid cricketer - he 

still plays today. I was really 

involved with my local club, and 

I’d come down here to Emirates 

Old Trafford whenever I could and 

watch games with my parents. 

“To be able to say I’m president 

of Lancashire is a dream I 

never knew I had - I never 

thought those words would 

come out of my mouth. I’ve 

always loved cricket, and I’m 

really looking forward to it.” 

Storey’s experiences as an 

active international athlete with 

incredible longevity across more 

than 30 years will be a huge 

asset to everyone at Emirates 

Old Trafford. The knowledge 

and inspiration she can pass 

on to players male and female 

is obvious, but she also has 

administrative expertise as well. 

Herself and her husband, Barney, 

co-founded the Storey Racing 

cycling team in 2013, while other 

current roles including being a 

visiting professor at Manchester 

Metropolitan University. 

“The role of president is to 

support the board in being able 

to help grow the club,” continued 

Storey. “The female side of 

the sport is obviously growing 

rapidly internationally but also 

here in Lancashire and here at 

Emirates Old Trafford. I want to 

be able to support that growth 

and lend my expertise as well. 


“When it comes to the players 

and coaches, it’s being able to 

support from a performance 

perspective. I know what it’s like 

to be in the thick of it, under 

pressure and having to perform. 

“It’s amazing to see the work 

that’s gone in here at Emirates Old 

Trafford to promote the Thunder 

team. There’s clearly been a huge 

amount of investment into the 

women’s game which is exciting 

to see. I’m looking forward to 

being part of that journey. The 

men’s team has been so close 

to silverware over the last few 

years, and I want to support them 

as much as I possibly can, too. 

“It would be amazing to see 

trophies coming back to Emirates 

Old Trafford. There’s a huge fight 

- everybody wants to be in there, 

and it’s always so close at the top.” 

Storey’s list of achievements in the 

pool and on the track are not just 

limited to the Paralympics. She is 

a 29-time World champion and 21- 

time European champion as well. 

Safe to say, she knows a 

champion when she sees one…. 

“It will be really great to come 

back here and watch the cricket 

through the eyes that I have here 

at the club now,” she added. 

“To see the success I believe is 

coming and know that I’ve been 

able to play a part is very exciting. 

“I’m very grateful for the 

opportunity to be here and 

share my love of cricket. 

Following on from the AGM – 

and once the role is hopefully 

ratified by Members – I really 

look forward to taking on the 

position, formally as President.” 

What a summer that would be - a 

gold medal or two in Paris and a 

Red Rose title or two for the men 

and the women. That would be 

the stuff dreams are made of. 



CHRIS BENBOW: 

HEAD OF 

TALENT 

PATHWAY 

REFLECTS 

ON A 

BUSY 

WINTER 

A Lancashire 

Boys’ Academy 

10-day training 

camp in Sri Lanka back 

in February was 

sprinkled with a fair bit 

of stardust, and lead 

coach Chris Benbow 

couldn’t have been 

happier about it. Red 

Rose and international 

legends Muttiah 

Muralitharan and 

Andrew Flintoff 

dropped in to the 

group’s Colombo base 

to lend a hand, giving 

the county’s 

youngsters something 

to remember. 

“I can’t really sing its 

praises enough,” said 

Benbow of the tour in 

general. “Everything 

went as smoothly as it 

ever has done for any 

overseas trip I’ve been 

on. 

“But, in particular, the 

day we had Murali and 

Freddie there together 

was quite a good day!” 

Just to set the scene, 

Benbow, Lancashire’s 

head of talent pathway, 

led a group of eight 

Academy players and 

five professionals on 

tour. He was helped 

by first-team assistant 

coach Steven Croft and 

Academy performance 

coach Kyle Hogg, two 

more county greats. 

Joe Chapple, Corey 

Flintoff, Rocky Flintoff, 

Keshana Fonseka, 

George Harris, Haider 

Hussain, Joe Moores 

and Gennaro Reddy 

were the Academy 

players there. 

Academy graduate 

Charlie Barnard - “He’s 

a player of interest to 

us and is someone who 

we’re giving secondteam 

opportunities to,” 

said Benbow - also 


travelled in place of injured 

Charlie Parkinson. Senior 

professionals Tom Aspinwall, 

George Balderson, Matthew 

Hurst, Jack Morley and Harry 

Singh were also on tour. 

Back to Murali’s visit: “Morley 

had a really good chat with 

him, and Haider - our little 

leg-spin wizard - as well,” 

continued Benbow. 

“Murali was pretty quick to 

point out a few bits and bobs 

for him to work on. One of 

Haider’s work-ons is to gain 

a bit more pace, so we took 

those on board and worked 

on them in the nets. Pretty 

quickly, you could see a 

positive difference. That was 

really pleasing. 

“He sat down with all of 

the spinners and had a 

chat around some of his 

experiences and learnings. 

One of the things he talked 

about was being a good 

team man in the dressing 

room. He’s been in and out 

of a lot of franchise set-ups, 

and that kind of thing is so 

important. 

“He talked a lot about the 

importance of bowling a 

volume of balls in the nets 

and really trying to spin the 

ball. Around that, you have 

a bit of time to work on your 

variations. The lads were 

eating his every word. 

“It wasn’t just our lads he 

was helping out - it was the 

net bowlers too. He was 

helping everyone. His love 

for the game really shone 

through. It was brilliant. 

“He spoke fondly of his 

memories at Lancashire 

and of people he played 

with who he still sees at 

various tournaments around 

the world. His time with us 

clearly left a mark on him.” 

Benbow continued: “To get 

the likes of him and Fred 

involved is so welcome 

because it just gives the lads 

a different slant on things. 

They hear my voice a lot, 

Crofty’s and Hoggy’s too.” 

The group trained eight 

days out of 10, had a rest 

Benbow was part 

of the England 

Under 19 Men’s 

World Cup squad 

in South Africa 

earlier this year. 

day in the middle and 

played a match against local 

opposition at the end. 

“We were just out of 

the hustle and bustle of 

Colombo, which was nice,” 

said Benbow. “The hotel was 

on the beach front. We were 

based at quite a new ground, 

where a club called the Ace 

Capitals are based. They 

are one of the top clubs just 

below first-class cricket. 

“All the grounds we used 

were top drawer. We had 

a full day at P Sara Oval, 

where (Kumar) Sangakkara 

played his last Test. There 

was a lot of history there. 

We set up practice around 

what things look like on 


spinning pitches, while one 

of the other wickets we had 

was quite pacy with some 

extra bounce. That gave us a 

decent dynamic. 

“The net bowlers we had all 

trip were really crafty. As you 

would imagine, first session, 

our batters were trying to 

impose themselves on these 

bowlers to try and get them 

away. But as soon as they 

did, these lads went into 

white ball game mode. 

“The lads were also facing 

Jack (Morley), who bowls at 

good pace and spins it hard. 

That challenge was excellent 

for them. 

“Having the pros there was 

brilliant. George Balderson 

spoke on the first day around 

his observations of what he’d 

seen from the Academy lads 

and also his learnings about 

batting on those surfaces. 

That really set the tone for 

the rest of the trip.” 

Muttiah 

Muralitharan 

(middle) and 

Andrew Flintoff 

(far right) join 

up with the 

Lancashire boys’ 

Academy tour 

to Sri Lanka. 

Benbow has himself racked 

up the air miles this winter, 

also travelling to India as 

part of the England Young 

Lions backroom staff before 

Christmas. He then went to 

South Africa for a similar role 

at the Under 19s World Cup 

in the New Year. 

“This winter been a great 

learner for me,” he said. 

“Spending time in and 

around Mike Yardy, Paul 

Franks, Min Patel and 

Kadeer Ali, there’s a lot of 

knowledge and first-class 

experience there. Also, 

being around players who 

are at the top of their games 

in that age-group was 

fantastic. 

“To see them go about their 

business and talk about 

the game was very useful. I 

changed my views on certain 

things and had my views on 

others re-enforced.” 

Now, attentions switch to the 

summer for the Academy, 

who play their cricket in the 

trio of County Under 18s 

competitions, the threeday 

Championship, the 

Knockout 50-over Cup and 

the T20 Cup. Players from 

the club’s Emerging Players 

Programme will also be 

involved. 

Last year, the Red Rose won 

one and drew three of their 

five Championship matches, 

finishing three points 

behind North Group winners 

Yorkshire. Their other game, 

against Leicestershire, was 

abandoned without a ball 

bowled. In the T20s, they 

won three of five games, 

again only just pipped to a 

Finals Day appearance by 

Northern winners Yorkshire. 

In the 50-over competition, 

they were knocked out in the 

second round. 

“It’s nice to do well, but the 

bottom line of the Academy 

and Pathway programme is 

to get lads into professional 

seats. We tend to judge 

success more on that,” 

added Benbow. 

“In the last couple of years, 

look at the amount of lads 

who have progressed 

through to force their way 

into pro contracts - not just 

at Lancs but around the 

country. Its testament to the 

work we’re doing and before 

myself and Stephen Titchard 

came into pathway cricket. 

“But lads who are shifting 

into pro contracts need a 

plan to win. There’s a definite 

element of, ‘Look lads, how 

are we going to win a game 

of cricket?’ 

“If lads have won a trophy, 

brilliant. It’s a life-long 

memory that they’re 

not going to forget. We 

want them to come into 

the pathway and enjoy 

their experience with us. 

Winning can only help that. 

But it takes second fiddle 

to actually getting lads 

progressed through.” 


NEW 

COLOURS 

Join The New Balance Family

Members’ 

Representative 

Group Update 

I 

n his last communication 

to Members, Board 

Member Chris Peacock, 

who leads on member services 

and communications, provided 

an update on the Members’ 

Representative Group (MRG) and 

the recruitment process 

undertaken in 2023/24. Of the 

successful and suitably skilled 

candidates at interview, six will 

be put forward for election to 

join the MRG for a three-year 

term at the Annual General 

Meeting on the Thursday 30 

May 2024, after one candidate 

withdrew from the process for 

personal reasons. 

Given the success of the 

recruitment process in 

attracting an unprecedented 20 

expressions of interest in joining 

the MRG, the same approach 

of utilising the entire season 

to proactively engage with 

member applications to support 

the Group will be repeated this 

coming year. Once the season 

begins, Chris Peacock and 

the MRG will be available for 

members to engage with about 

standing for the MRG - and we 

will support any member who 

is interested. We will close 

this process at the end of the 

season and invite those who 

have expressed an interest 

to apply for the next year. 

Whilst the increase in 

expressions of interest in joining 

the MRG reflects the growing 

and diversifying membership, 

it also reflects the dedicated 

and committed hard work over 

many years of the MRG Chair, 

Colin Gore and MRG Deputy 

Chair, Chris Bent both of whom 

have now stepped down from 

the MRG. Collectively they have 

dedicated 15 years to guiding the 

work of the MRG to represent 

the issues and views of Members 

more effectively in discussions 

with the Club. They worked so 

effectively together that they 

could very often finish each 

other’s sentences and were 

a pleasure to sit alongside. 

We took the opportunity to ask 

both Colin and Chris to reflect 

on their time on the MRG and 

share their thoughts here: 

Colin Gore: 

“I joined the MRG in 2018 

and in my first meeting I was 

unanimously voted in as 

Chair of this wonderful group 


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University, UA92 gives you more than a degree. 

Bring your ambition, curiosity and positivity 

and we will empower your self-belief, 

Unlock Your Greatness and prepare you for life. 

START IN SEP, NOV, 

JAN, FEB, APR OR JUN. 1 

NO TRADITIONAL 

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STUDY IN THE 

MORNING OR IN 

THE AFTERNOON 3 

DEGREES DEVELOPED 

IN PARTNERSHIP 

WITH INDUSTRY 

UA92.AC.UK 

SCAN TO BOOK YOUR OPEN DAY 

1. For most up to date information on start dates visit UA92.ac.uk/study-with-us/ 

key-dates 2. There may be exams in some subject areas but these will be at the end 

of the module instead of the end of the year. 3. If you start in Feb, Apr, June or are 

an accelerated student we don’t guarantee fixed am/pm throughout your studies. 

In partnership with

of extremely talented 

individuals which was 

such an honour. The MRG 

ensured that the members 

voice was being heard 

loud and clear, sometimes 

on a daily basis, with the 

Executive Management 

Team at EOT, who also 

deserve huge credit for 

listening and working with 

the MRG to find tangible 

solutions for members. 

My highlight probably 

has to be representing 

members at Board level 

as I eventually attended 

two Board Meetings and I 

was afforded the ultimate 

opportunity to raise the 

members ‘big ticket items’ 

at the very top table of 

this fantastic cricket club. 

My ultimate legacy is 

that the MRG are now 

entrenched as part 

of the club’s decision 

making process and we 

have now had a record 

number of applicants 

wanting to join the MRG 

and to continue the good 

work on behalf of all our 

distinguished members.” 

challenge them in an open 

and honest environment. 

I truly hope that the 

next MRG enjoy their 

experience of supporting 

members. It is a privilege 

to have this role and I 

wish them all the best”. 

Whilst both Colin and Chris 

step down from the MRG, 

they won’t be disappearing 

as they continue to 

support the work of the 

Club through conducting 

stadium tours, sitting on 

the Heritage Hub Project 

and of course providing 

helpful support when 

needed to the new MRG. 

We shall miss them 

hugely but join Daniel 

Gidney and the Club in 

thanking them for their 

support and much needed 

humour over the years! 

Finally, as a reminder, we 

are starting this year with 

a new email address for 

members to use when 

reaching out to us: MRG@ 

lancashirecricket.co.uk. We 

hope to see many of you 

as the season starts – do 

please come and say hello! 

Chris Bent: 

“To say it has been an 

interesting ten years is an 

understatement! The MRG 

has developed over that 

period and the final group 

that I worked with are a 

special bunch of people. 

Their desire, commitment 

and positive mentality no 

matter what was thrown 

at them was very special. 

I feel honoured to be able 

to call them friends all 

sharing the same passion 

for Lancashire County 

Cricket Club. Equally I 

would like to thank the 

Club for its support. We 

developed a true sense 

of trust and were able to 


Join us in celebrating 

30 years of Lancashire Line 

THE EARLY YEARS 

When Gary Porter joined Lancashire 

from Bolton Wanderers in 1994, there 

was no coordinated fundraising 

in place at the Club apart from a 

traditional annual Christmas Draw. 

The Club had attempted to establish 

lotteries in the past, but each had 

failed, costing the Club tens of 

thousands of pounds in the process. 

Despite bringing Gary’s expertise on 

board, 1994 was not the ideal time 

to start this new venture, with the 

National Lottery being launched in 

that same year, wiping out a number of sporting 

club weekly draws in the process. 

However, with the Club’s support, Gary worked 

tirelessly to establish the new Lancashire Line 

Weekly Draw, which in its very first week attracted 

1,200 members; by year three the numbers had 

trebled, and a solid base was established. 

THE COMMITTEE AND THE TEAM 

In order to govern and oversee the Lottery, the 

LCCC Development Association was established, 

with an incredibly supportive Committee 

comprising Paddy Smith (Chairman), Howard Atkins 

(Treasurer) and Tony Healey (Secretary). Following 

the sad death of Paddy Smith, former Minister of 

Sport, Sir Robert Atkins, became Chairman, which 

was the only change to the Committee in 18 years, 

until the Lottery subsequently moved under the 

umbrella of the Lancashire Cricket Foundation in 

2013. 

Gary quickly built a small and loyal team, most 

notably Amanda Worley and Karen Wright, later 

followed by Peter Young, all of whom continue to 

work tirelessly to build on the good work of the last 

30 years. 

THE CHALLENGES & DIVERSIFICATION 

The last 30 years has been a long and challenging 

journey. Initially, Lancashire members felt that their 

annual membership fee was enough to support 

the Club, and therefore it was difficult to attract 

contributors. However, over time a great bond 

was forged with many members, who not only 

supported the weekly draw, but helped with other 


THE CONTRIBUTIONS 

fundraising activities. Over 500 

members who took part in the 

very first weekly draw continue to 

support us today. 

As well as running a weekly Lottery, 

with members at one point peaking 

at 10,000, Gary’s team have 

organised over 150 popular and 

memorable events, attracting more 

than 25,000 attendees. Some of 

the highest profile include: 

- A 10th Anniversary Dinner with John Major 

- 1966 Football World Cup Winners Dinner 

with many of the players from the Final in 

attendance including Sir Bobby Charlton 

- Cricketing Legends Dinners featuring greats 

of the game such as Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir 

Richard Hadlee, Richie Benaud, Dennis Lillee, 

Sir Viv Richards & many Lancashire Cricket 

legends. 

- Many others, including an audience with 

Michael Parkinson and the panel of the Soccer 

Saturday Team 

In 2014, a sister lottery, the Friends of the 

Foundation was also launched and continues to 

successfully run along-side the Lancashire Line 

helping to generate funds to support cricket across 

Lancashire. 

The past 30 years have not passed without 

challenge. If we thought the competition 

of the National Lottery and financial 

crash of 2009 were tough opponents, 

nothing could prepare us for the massive 

impact of Covid in 2020. The subsequent 

lockdowns / restrictions affected 

membership with in-person collections 

banned. However, the team adapted 

and thanks to the many members who 

agreed to continue paying their direct 

debits, operations eventually resumed 

and the valuable financial contributions to 

cricket were maintained. 

The Development Association has generated 

an astonishing £14million of income during its 

existence; a mixture of Lancashire Line and 

Friends of the Foundation lottery income of 

£12.8m plus more than £1.3m from various 

events (lunches, dinners, golf days), match 

day draws, Christmas & 

Summer raffles plus auction 

and eBay sales that have 

all been part of a drive to 

diversify and maximise 

income streams. 

Following the three years 

it took to establish the 

Lottery, the first donation 

of £55,000 to the Club was 

made in 1997 and, with 

the exception of the Covid 

years, the annual donations 

from surpluses generated 

through the Lottery have 

been at least £50,000 and 

on nine occasions have 

exceeded £100,000. 

In total a hugely impressive £2.66mllion has been 

donated to the Club and the Foundation with a 

further £330,000 to other local Cricket Clubs and 

Groups. 

The value and importance of these contributions 

should not be underestimated. By way of example, 

one very prominent asset put to great use at 

Emirates Old Trafford for nearly 20 years is the 

hover cover. This was specifically funded by one 

six figure annual donation in 2005. However, 

most important of all was probably the £700,000 

donated between 2010 and 2013 during which 

time the Club was suffering a tumultuous period 

when its future was at serious risk as it fought legal 

battles with a local developer and related funding 

issues pending plans to redevelop the stadium to 

re-secure Test Match cricket. Lee Morgan, Finance 

& Operations Director during this period, can fully 


attest to the immense cash flow challenges faced 

and the huge importance of the donations made 

to the Club in helping it to successfully come out 

the other end. The existence of the Club and 

international cricket ground as we know it was on 

the line. 

SAYING THANK YOU 

There are a lot of people to thank for keeping 

the faith in the early years, including former Chief 

Executive John Bower and his successor Jim 

Cumbes who were both highly supportive along 

with the Development Association Committee, 

especially Howard Atkins who never faltered in his 

support and belief. 

The small but very hardworking team of Gary, 

Amanda, Karen & Peter (the engine room of the 

Association) plus many other colleagues along 

the way have helped to build the foundations and 

supported the growth of the Lottery. These include 

Don Stephens, Glyn Davies, Ralph Aldred & Barry 

Wroe. 

It is also important to recognise the small team of 

volunteers who deserve a special mention. Thank 

you to Mike Moore, Christine Hayes, Craig Tranter 

and Paul Condliffe who have given up their own 

time on many occasions to help keep the money 

coming in. 

A YEAR OF CELEBRATION 

2024 will be a year for celebrating the success 

of the LCCC Development Association and the 

Lotteries it runs, as a popular and very important 

contributor to the Club’s recent history. As a result, 

we are currently working on the following: 

- A commemorative plaque unveiled on one of 

the concourses. 

- A 30th Anniversary Draw during the season. 

- A dinner in late summer / early autumn for 

which we hope to attract many of the explayers 

from that successful decade 30 years 

ago when the Development Association first 

came into being. 

We hope we can count on members young and old 

to help us celebrate our success and support our 

fundraising in this very special year, it really does 

make a difference to cricket in Lancashire. 

If you would like more information on the 

forthcoming events or details of how you can 

support us in our fundraising activities please 

scan the QR code below or contact the Lottery 

Office lancashireline@lancashirecricket.co.uk 

Thank you again to the LCCC Development 

Association and all those who have contributed 

towards its success. Here’s to the next 30 years! 

Lottery Update 

The Lancashire Cricket Foundation will be hosting 

a Legend’s Lunch on Sunday 26th May when 

Lancashire Cricket take on Warwickshire in the 

County Championship at Emirates Old Trafford. 

The match will start at 11.00am with lunch served 

at 1.00pm. It should be a great afternoon of cricket 

and entertainment with special guest former Man 

Utd, Brighton & Oldham footballer, Andy Ritchie. 

The event will take place in The Point and tickets 

are just £45 (£35 for Friends of the Foundation & 

Lancashire Line members). 

The ticket price includes: 

• Two-course lunch 

• Q&A with special guest Andy Ritchie 

• Entry to The Point from 10.30am 

• Car parking 

• Match scorecard 

To book your tickets contact the 

Lancashire Cricket Foundation on 

0161 868 6845 or scan the QR code. 


In Memory Wall 

Earlier this year, the Lancashire Cricket 

Foundation unveiled the ‘In Memory Wall’ – a new 

installation where members can pay tribute to 

and celebrate a loved one through a personalised 

plaque. Located underneath the tunnel behind 

the Pavilion Reception, the wall is the perfect way 

to remember a loved one and be part of a lasting 

legacy here at Emirates Old Trafford. 

The initiative was launched following a generous 

donation from Geoff Perkins to the Lancashire 

Cricket Foundation, made in memory of his late 

wife Bridget. Former Lancashire Cricket Captain, 

John Abrahams was in attendance on the day to 

officially open the wall. 

Geoff, a lifelong Lancashire Cricket Member, 

commented “Lancashire Cricket now has a 

memorial wall appropriate to its status as one 

of the great sporting stadiums in the UK. It’s a 

fantastic way to honour and remember a loved one 

whilst providing a place for Members to visit in the 

ground and have a few moments of reflection.” 

“The wall was opened on the first anniversary of 

Bridget’s passing, and I am grateful to the Club for 

the support they provided in getting this off the 

ground.” 

JACKPOT WINNER 

Congratulations to Derek Griffiths of Nelson 

who is the latest winner of our Friends of the 

Foundation Jackpot Prize of £4,000! 

This is not Derek’s first big win having won the 

£2,300 jackpot back in 2017. Derek is pictured 

(left) receiving his cheque from David Gower, 

who was the guest speaker at our fundraising 

dinner back in October. 

Since the Friends of the Foundation was 

launched in 2024, we have had almost 500 

lucky winners with over £70,000 paid out in 

prize money. You could be our next winner - join 

now and not only will you be in with a chance 

of winning a cash prize you will be helping to 

support the delivery of a wide range of projects, 

programmes and events designed to improve 

individuals and communities through cricket. 

Becoming a member has never 

been easier simply scan the 

QR code (right) and become a 

Friend of the Foundation for just 

£2 per week. 

The Lancashire Cricket Foundation has a strong 

commitment to growing the game of cricket in the 

county. With that in mind, Geoff’s donation will be 

used to establish a Bursary Fund that provides 

young people from disadvantaged backgrounds 

with access to financial support needed to attend 

one of our Development Centres. 

The Lancashire Cricket Development Centres 

were launched in September 2021 and provide 

young people with the opportunity to develop, 

grow and hone their skills. Sessions are available 

for beginners all the way through to those children 

playing at County level, providing an opportunity 

to play at the best standard for each individual 

involved. 

By providing these bursaries, we are able to 

increase cricket participation levels among underrepresented 

groups, helping to unearth future 

talent who may otherwise go unnoticed. 

We are offering Lancashire Cricket Members 

the opportunity to be part of our rich history by 

purchasing your very own personalised plaque to 

feature on the Memory Wall through a donation 

to the Lancashire Cricket Foundation. For more 

information, please contact the Lancashire Cricket 

Foundation’s Fundraising Manager, Phil Ascott, via 

pascott@lancashirecricket.co.uk 


Test your knowledge with 10 

questions from Spin Magazine! 

The answers are all provided at the bottom of this page, upside down! 

Q1: Which two Lancashire players have played 

in more than 100 Test Matches for England? 

.......................................................................................... 

Q2: Which former Thunder player won 

the World Cup with England in 2017? 

.......................................................................................... 

Q3: Which Lancashire player won the Man 

of the Match award for his captaincy in 

the 1984 Benson & Hedges Cup Final? 

.......................................................................................... 

Q4: Which two Lancashire players have hit 

34 runs off one over in first-class cricket? 

.......................................................................................... 

Q5: Who was the last Lancashire bowler to 

take all ten wickets in a first-class innings? 

.......................................................................................... 

Q6: Who holds the Lancashire record for 

the quickest T20 century (off 49 balls)? 

.......................................................................................... 

Q7: Who are only two Lancashire batters 

to have scored 300 runs in one day? 

.......................................................................................... 

Q8: Can you name the two former 

Lancashire players to have taken four 

wickets in one Test Match over? 

.......................................................................................... 

Q9: Who was the last Lancashire player to 

have also played professional football? 

.......................................................................................... 

Q10: Which two Lancashire players have 

won the Professional Cricketer’s Association 

Player of the Year award twice? 

.......................................................................................... 

ANSWERS: Q1: James Anderson (187) & Michael Atherton (115), Q2: Alex Hartley, Q3: John Abrahams, Q4: Frank Hayes (off Malcolm Nash v Glamorgan, Swansea 1977) and Andrew 

Flintoff (off Alex Tudor v Surrey, Old Trafford, 1998), Q5: Bob Berry v Worcestershire at Blackpool in 1953, Q6: Liam Livingstone v Derbyshire at Derby in 2018, Q7: Eddie Paynter, 322 

v Sussex at Hove, 1937 & Neil Fairbrother, 311 v Surrey at The Oval, 1990, Q8: Ken Cranston for England v South Africa at Headingley, 1947 & Wasim Akram for Pakistan v West Indies 

at Lahore, 1990, Q9: Gary Montgomery (pictured above) – 3 one-day matches for Lancashire in 2010 & goalkeeper for Coventry City (1999-2003), Rotherham United (2003-07), 

Grimsby Town (2007-09), Q10: Peter Lee (1973 & 1977) and Andrew Flintoff (2004 & 2005). 



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Lancashire Spin Spring 2024

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