It has been confirmed that George Edwards, Gavin Griffiths and Luis Reece will all be released at the end of the 2016 season, after Lancashire decided not to renew their current contracts.
The decision follows Lancashire's dual elimination from the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup in the space of 48 hours of one another, with director of cricket Ashley Giles citing rebuilding the team for the future as his reason for allowing these three players to leave.
Edwards - who was Giles' very first signing during his tenure at Old Trafford - has been a mainstay of the Twenty20 side and is Lancashire's leading wicket-taker in the format with 16 victims at an average of 20.94.
The former Surrey seamer was part of the Lancashire team who won the Twenty20 competition at Edgbaston last summer, but his inability to emerge into the 50-over or County Championship sides since joining in 2014 has forced Giles to ponder his role at the Club.
Ormskirk-born fast bowler Griffiths was also part of the T20 celebrations back in August, making his debut in the shortest format in the semi-final against Hampshire. Griffiths delivered a maiden in his first over - only the sixth maiden to be bowled at Finals Day - before taking 2-23 in the final against Northamptonshire Steelbacks to help Lancashire lift the T20 trophy for the first time.
Since then, Griffiths has made only one appearance for Lancashire in any format, suffering an injury in the opening Twenty20 match of the season against Derbyshire Falcons. After splitting the webbing between his thumb and finger, Griffiths joined Hampshire on loan, where he has so far made four appearances in the T20 Blast. Griffiths bowled just one ball in that match against Derbyshire, before a fierce shot from Hasmish Rutherford forced him to be sidelined a long-term basis.
The 22-year-old seamer made three appearances in the 50-over side last season, taking three wickets against Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Liverpool, but his Finals Day exploits - followed by an unfortunate injury - have not been enough to entice Lancashire into retaining the promising young bowler.
The most senior of the three players set to leave Lancashire - Reece - has not played a single four-day game this season, with his only First Team opportunities coming in the T20 competition. The left-handed opening batsman made a stunning impression when he broke into the First Team in 2013, scoring seven consecutive half-centuries in Division Two to help Lancashire secure promotion as champions of the second division.
Reece struggled for form in red-ball cricket last season, scoring only 142 runs in eight innings, with his frustration leading to the batsman injuring his hand by punching a dressing room locker. His subsequent injury led to a comeback in the Second Team this season, but Reece has not made a Championship appearance since the final game of the 2015 season against Essex where he scored 82 in his only innings.
The 25-year-old made his Twenty20 debut this season against Worcestershire at New Road, but his handful of appearances in the shortest format have not been enough to warrant another season at Old Trafford for the former Leeds-Bradford batsman.
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