Season review: Relegation overshadows Lancashire’s season

 Despite reaching the final of the Natwest t20 Blast, the Red Rose’s second relegation in three seasons creates more cause for concern than jubilation.

If you had asked the Lancashire faithful what their main goal was by the end of the 2014 season, it would have been to maintain Division One status in the County Championship. After cruising to the Division Two title last year, Lancashire promised to be a very real threat in the top flight, but in actuality struggled to compete in an unforgiving league. 

Their determination, right through to the final day of the season, demonstrated their tenacity, but results fell unfavourably and a total of three wins from 16 matches did not warrant survival. Two of these victories came against the Division’s whipping boys, Northamptonshire, and the other in a one-wicket victory at home to Durham. 

Lancashire’s tribulations became apparent at a very early stage. Glen Chapple’s men struggled to post imposing first-innings totals and as a result finished with the second-lowest number of batting points in the division. Youth has been part of the Old Trafford ethos for so long now – guiding Lancashire to the County Championship title in 2011 and promotion in 2013 – but early season conditions proved to be their undoing. 

Lancashire were able to depend of South-African veteran, Ashwell Prince, for a steady contribution of runs, but their struggle to find an immediate replacement for Simon Katich will be labelled as a key contributor to their relegation. A big loss in personnel was undoubtedly the departure of Peter Moores who returned to the role of England coach at the end of Lancashire’s second match of the season. 

Lancashire’s Player of the Year, Tom Smith, added vital runs and wickets to keep his side in contention, but his late-season injury left a void in the team and when the Red Rose failed to beat Middlesex, they returned to the second division.

The t20 format proffered victory on a more regular basis for Lancashire fans, as the Lightning achieved ten straight wins to reach the final. The rebranded ‘Natwest t20 Blast’ offered some of the most exciting matches in the tournaments history and amongst these was the final between Lancashire and the Birmingham Bears. 

The story which grabbed all the headlines was the return of Andrew Flintoff, who claimed the wicket of Ian Bell with his first ball in the final at Edgbaston. It was yet another successful season of t20 cricket for Lancashire, but when Flintoff failed to see his side over the line in a dramatic run chase, the Bears were crowned deserved champions. This leaves Lancashire as the most successful team in the tournaments 12-year history, in terms of matches won, but with no silverware to show for it.

The Royal London One-Day Cup was a disastrous affair for Lancashire as they finished second-bottom of their group with just two wins in eight matches. The tournament began with drubbings at home to Yorkshire at Hampshire and the Lightning failed to recover from these early setbacks, defeating Leicestershire in their final match of the campaign to avoid last place in Group A.

Smith was voted Lancashire's Player of the Season.

LV = County Championship:  (8th, Division One – Relegated)

Natwest T20 Blast: (Runners-up) (1st, North Group)

Royal London One-Day Cup: (8th, Group A)

Leading run-scorer: Ashwell Prince (1,700 runs) (All comps)

Leading wicket-taker: Tom Smith (63 wickets) (All comps)

Win %: 40% - 16 wins in 40 matches.

Player of the Season:

Without Tom Smith Lancashire would have been relegated long before the final day of the season and his vital contributions made him the front-runner for this accolade from an early stage. Lancashire’s leading-wicket taker in Championship cricket also added 773 runs and guided his side to a tense victory against Durham. His four-day form would have been enough to clinch the prize, but he also made valued contributions to Lancashire’s t20 successes, scoring 339 runs in 14 matches.

Bailey was the Young Player
of the Year for 2014.

Breakthrough Player:

Tom Bailey’s presence in the latter stages of the season became crucial in the face of adversity. Lancashire’s growing list of injuries to the likes of Smith, Kyle Hogg and Kabir Ali offered Bailey the chance to prove himself in four-day and 50-over cricket. Hogg’s subsequent retirement means that Bailey will almost certainly acquire a contract at Old Trafford after claiming 13 wickets in seven games for the Red Rose.

Khawaja failed to fill the void left by
fellow Australian Simon Katich.

Could have done better:

Usman Khawaja was the belated replacement for Katich and, with a first-class average of over 40, promised to save Lancashire from their woes with the bat. 

In his first match he scored 86 against Durham, a match which Lancashire would eventually lose, but the Red Rose felt they had acquired a top quality batsman. However, in his next nine innings he made just 145 runs at an average of 16.11 in four-day cricket and as a replacement for Katich, his form was underwhelming to say the least.

Need to work on:

The fundamental difference between Lancashire surviving or succumbing to relegation was the lack of runs when it mattered most and so the Red Rose need to establish a top-order capable of posting big totals. Their inability to take lower-order wickets cost them in several matches this season and Lancashire developed a habit of relying on the same players for assistance.

Season Rating:

Survival was the ultimate goal for Lancashire this summer. For all their determination, the Red Rose struggled to match-up to the high standard of Division One, although a successful twenty20 campaign gave the Lancashire fans a mid-season boost before they were eventually relegated.

Mark: 5/10