Lancashire Season Preview.

Lancashire Preview:

2012 in a nutshell: 

The return of Ashwell Prince (left) will be vital to Lancashire's
 chances, as will Steven Croft (right).

The disappointment of being relegated last season will have hit the 2011 County Champions very hard indeed. Lancashire managed just one win in the four day campaign last season and have it all to do to regain first division cricket. In the one-day formats they were much more impressive, finishing top of Group A in the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition, only to lose in the semi-final versus Warwickshire while they experienced an unusally average t20 campaign, failing to qualify from the Northern Division. Lancashire proved once again the importance of youth players in their squad, as they were able to utilise their homegrown talent in the one-day matches and retain fitness levels for the Championship. But they were unable to prevent relegation, due to bad weather and a series of poor batting performances, an area that the coach Peter Moores will be keen to address.

Ins: 

Kabir Ali (Hampshire), Alex Davies (Youth), Gavin Griffiths (Youth), Luis Reece (Youth), Aaron Lilley (Youth), Simon Katich (Hampshire), Wayne White (Leicestershire).

Outs: 

Naqaash Tahir (Released), Sajid Mahmood (Essex), Gary Keedy (Surrey).

Overseas Player:

In Simon Katich, Lancashire have signed a prolific all-rounder, who is certain to play a key role in their bid for promotion. With a first class batting average of 52.04, the 37-year-old will look to account for the weakness in Lancashire’s batting. The Australian left-hander has played 56 Tests and achieved 25 half centuries, converting ten of which into hundreds. He is also a capable spin bowler, providing aid to Simon Kerrigan and Stephen Parry, after the departure of veteran Gary Keedy. He promises to be an engaging and dependable figure in the one-day formats, having guided Hampshire to success in both the Clydesdale Bank 40 and t20 competitions. Katich is likely to play an instrumental part in Lancashire’s team this season and will be hopeful of making a bigger impression than the previous overseas signings at the club. Over the past few years, big names such as Nathan Astle and Sanath Jayasuriya have promised success and made little difference to Lancashire’s chances. Katich will therefore be keen to prove the critics wrong and boost Lancashire after the disappointment of last season. Additionally, the return of Ashwell Prince will be vital to Lancashire's chances of promotion and as the top run scorer last season, their will be a lot of pressure on him to repeat and improve on this. 

Key Player:

There is no doubting that the Lancashire skipper, Glen Chapple, will be a key figure in his team’s bid for promotion. His ability to take wickets has been an ever-present attribute of his game, but in recent years his fitness has restricted him from playing to his full potential. Over the course of the season, it is likely that Steven Croft will be Lancashire’s key player for a number of reasons. Croft has had spells as the captain at Lancashire and with much of the squad comprising of young talent, Croft is now considered to be one of the senior players in the team. His primary task this season is to utilise his all-round game, in order to help Lancashire in the Championship, as he has done since he established himself as one the first names on the team sheet. In last year’s County Championship campaign, Croft achieved an average of 28.96, which by his standards must be considered below par. However, in the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition he had an outstanding average of 57.00 and filled the shoes of Chapple during his fitness issues. This season he will have to step up even further, judging by the standards he has set for himself and his future role at the club. He is therefore Lancashire’s key asset, in terms of their overall chances for success in the 2013 season.

One to watch: 

Given the nature of Lancashire’s squad, there are a number of younger players to keep an eye on this season. They have already proven the importance of youth, after winning the championship with a large number of home-grown players and are continuing to operate under the same ethos this year, depsite their relegation.  Picking one player is difficult, but the name spoken frequently by Lancashire fans as one for the future is none other than Simon Kerrigan. Now that Gary Keedy has joined Surrey, Kerrigan and Stephen Parry both have a responsibility to fufill this season, but the former is likely to play the biggest role because he will feature in their Championship campaign, which will be the pinnacle of Lancashire’s season. Kerrigan was Lancashire’s top wicket-taker in last year’s four-day contest, with 44 wickets, and it is expected that he will push for this feat once more.

How they’ll fare: 

After winning the Championship title in 2011, Lancashire looked like one of the strongest outfits in the first division. But they were deservedly relegated last season after managing to win just one of their sixteen matches. Wayne White promises to be a fantastic signing in all three formats, but, primarily he will add depth to Lancashire’s fast bowling for the Championship campaign. Lancashire need to take more responsibility for their batting this year and runs must come from their openers, Paul Horton and Stephen Moore, and less so from the middle order. The bowling department has suffered slightly after Gary Keedy’s departure, but Simon Kerrigan has proven his potential as Lancashire’s front line spinner. Lancashire are no strangers to the fluctuation between the two divisions and certainly have the quality required for promotion, either automatically or as champions, and anything less will be considered a disappointment to Peter Moores.

Although the one-day competitions might not take priority this season, Lancashire are likely to be strong contenders, given the success of last year’s Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign and the signings they have made. Having lost in last year’s semi-final, the only way to top it this time would be to reach Lords and perhaps lift the trophy. There is certainly room for improvement in the t20, after failing to qualify for the knockout stages. There is no reason why Lancashire cannot reach Finals Day this year, but the nature of the game promises nothing to any team, regardless of previous encounters. However, the Lightning’s record in the t20 format is one of the strongest on the county circuit and they have every chance of living up to this expectation. The overall success of their season will be judged predominantly by the Championship table in September and where they are situated.