Spin Magazine Spring 2020 - The official Members' magazine of Lancashire Cricket by Zahra Ginieres Ridge

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DAVID HODGKISS OBE 1948 - 2020

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CLUB DIRECTORY Registered Office: Lancashire Cricket Emirates Old Trafford Talbot Road Manchester M16 OPX lancashirecricket.co.uk

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In Memorium... David Hodgkiss OBE

41 In Memorium...

Les Platts

42 David Thorley Ushers

10 Daniel Gidney 14 Paul Allott

16 Lancashire Cricket during COVID-19

18 Spin News

20 Hall of Fame Inauguration 24 Liam Livingstone 28 Richard Gleeson

32 2020 Cricket EXPO 36 Luke Wood

Ken Medlock

in New Era of Women’s Cricket

47 George Bladerson

50 Team Behind the Team... Christina Carr

54 Where Are They Now? Luke Sutton

58 Members’ Survey Results 62 Foundation News

64 Getting To Know...

Christian Mullarkey

38 Matt Parkinson

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 Acting Chairman / Honorary Treasurer: Les Platts Non-Executive Members: Sara Tomkins, Geoffrey Shindler OBE, Maurice Watkins CBE, Andrew Flintoff MBE, James Sheridan Chief Executive: Daniel Gidney Head Coach: Glen Chapple Director of Cricket: Paul Allott Finance Director / Secretary: Lee Morgan Operations Director: Steve Davies HR Director: Joanne Hunt

SPIN MAGAZINE Editor: James Price This programme was designed and produced on behalf of Lancashire Cricket by Ignition Sports Media. www.ignitionsportsmedia.com

FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the first edition of Spin Magazine in 2020. Firstly, I hope you and your families are well and safe. It’s an unprecedented time for everyone at the moment and whilst we’re all desperately missing cricket, things have been put completely into perspective over the last few weeks and months. We start by remembering our former Chairman, David Hodgkiss OBE who so sadly passed away recently, as well as Vice President Ken Medlock OBE, aged 105. We have columns from the Club’s Acting Chairman Les Platts, Chief Executive Daniel Gidney and Director of Cricket Paul Allott, who have given updates from Emirates Old Trafford. There are also interviews with Matt Parkinson, Liam Livingstone, Richard Gleeson, David Thorley who is the new Performance Director for Women’s cricket and Christian Mullarkey, the Club’s Head of Marketing. I hope you enjoy the edition. Stay safe, and we hope to see you at Emirates Old Trafford at some point this summer, once it is safe to do so.

James Price | Spin Editor

Remembering David Hodgkiss OBE (1948-2020)

The realities and effects of the Coronavirus are brought home when someone you love and counted as a friend is caught up in this awful and deadly maelstrom. We all mourn the untimely death of Lancashire Cricket Chairman David Hodgkiss OBE.

hen you met David, you were immediately struck by his modesty and unassuming manner. He was the Chief Executive of William Hare Construction, a Bolton steel company, with a passion for Bolton Wanderers, cricket and Timothy Taylors beer! His first contact with the game came at Repton School, where he was an opening bat and useful slip fielder. He studied economics at Liverpool University and for a short time became a hippie! Thankfully that phase didn’t last too long as cricket came to the rescue and he played for Cockermouth in Cumbria for many years. His involvement with Lancashire came when John Savage rang David at William Hare’s to ask if a young draughtsman, Mike Watkinson, could be released to play for the Second X1. David readily agreed and supported Mike during his career enabling him to have time off work to play cricket and a giving him a job in the winter. In 1996 Mike asked him to be his Benefit Chairman and David said: “He foolishly agreed!” He was very much a hands-on Chairman, even going into the middle of the Yorkshire supporters during a One-Day semi-final to collect for Mike. He said: “I think I collected 5p and was lucky to get out alive, it didn’t help that during the collection Mike took two wickets! But I enjoyed the banter with the crowd.” In 1998 he joined the Committee and made an immediate impression with his business acumen and a detailed knowledge of the construction industry which was integral to the launch of the ambitious

re-development of the ground. He also saw the transition from a Committee structure to a Board managing the Club. David became Honorary Treasurer from 2003 -2013 and he presided over a rollercoaster of financial results during one of the most challenging periods in the Club’s history. His expertise in the building industry was critical in helping to complete the £60million redevelopment. While he held this position, he still managed the operations of a successful global steel construction business and was awarded the OBE for services to business and exports.

I am proud to say David was a close friend. He was a wonderful human being, who lived life to full with a generous spirit and we will all miss him During his time as Vice-Chairman and Chairman, David always had a firm belief in looking after the players and in the Club having a good youth policy. He also was interested in Members and had a particular interest in promoting the heritage of the Club – the museum was going to be one of his lasting legacies when the redevelopment of the ground was completed. David had a particular skill in developing friendships with people from all walks of life. There was no surprise of him inviting the Lancashire supporters who had made the journey to Abu Dhabi for a pre-season

practice to drinks and a meal in the team’s hotel. He was passionate about the countryside, ecology and country sports, he loved walking the hills and moors of Northern England and Scotland. A more than competent fly-fisherman he was very much at home in waders in the middle of a river. He loved life, always gave himself fully in everything that he was involved in and was great fun to be around. He cared for people and, unusually for someone who was naturally shy, engaged fully with everyone he met. No wonder the ECB regarded him highly and used him in various ways, as he made a valuable contribution which was very much appreciated. He helped develop and foster links in the cricket world which helped to secure major international matches in the north-west. It was very moving to read the Twitter feed in response to the announcement from the Club about David’s death. The players’ comments speak how highly he was regarded and what they felt about him. In particular, Matt Parkinson spoke about how he will never forget David’s speech which he made when he gave him his county cap – it moved him so much. It will not just be the Board members who shed a tear over the loss of David, it will be all members of staff at Emirates Old Trafford, from the housekeeping team, to the players and Members. He touched us all, that was the mark of the man. We send our love to his wife Shirley and their family in their loss. Hon Chaplain Lancashire Cricket Rev Malcolm Lorimer

Les Platts — AC T I N G C H A I R M A N —

I will start my first Spin column by paying a personal tribute to our beloved Chairman, David Hodgkiss OBE. It was a huge shock to hear the news and his passing leaves a big void because of the person he was.

hugely proud, although not surprised, to see how everyone associated with the Club has responded. We are lucky to be custodians of the Red Rose, an iconic institution, which is close to all our hearts and to be surrounded by people that love the Club.

avid was generous with his time, positive, caring and loyal. He was also Lancashire through and through. He had Members at the forefront of every decision he and the Club made. I will continue with that policy. Once it is safe to do so, we will ensure the Club remembers David for his vast contribution to Emirates Old Trafford and the wider community.

Included in the measures that we, as a Club, have had to take is asking all staff, including the players and coaches, to take a 20% salary reduction in May, which could extend to June. In addition, a large number of the Club’s non-playing staff have been furloughed, with 80% of their wages paid by the government, and the other 20% topped up by the Club in April. One of the main priorities is that we protect and look after our permanent members of staff during this difficult period. The players are not on furlough, although we continue to monitor the situation. They are at home working through an intensive home exercise programme designed by the strength and conditioning

It was an enormous honour to be asked by the President, Sir Howard Bernstein, to take on the role of Acting Chairman, and one that I was very proud to accept. My sole focus for this period is that we navigate our way through the current crisis, and once we have done so the Club will plan to make a permanent appointment. Lancashire, partly due to the loss of David, has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges that this poses are uppermost in the minds of the Board and Executive Team. I have been

team, whilst also being able to access support from our Psychologist, Lee Richardson. As you can imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on the Club’s revenues. The cricket season has been delayed, whilst the Hilton Garden Inn hotel and Emirates Old Trafford as a venue has been closed for some time now. We are planning for, and hoping for, a truncated cricket season towards the back end of the summer, and it’s clear, rightly so, that the ECB are focusing on forms of the game that will provide the greatest financial return which suggest international and domestic T20 cricket. The ECB have confirmed that they will try and get some red ball domestic cricket into the schedule as well, which we fully endorse and support. One project that I would like to update Members on is the continued redevelopment of Emirates Old Trafford. Earlier this year, we announced that we were going to replace the existing, and wellloved, Red Rose building with a new stand that would then complete the development of the ground, and fulfil a vision that was set twenty years ago and one which David was completely committed to. You won’t be surprised to hear that these plans, as well as the plan for an extension to the hotel, are on hold for the time-being. We are all still committed to these plans, but clearly the focus right now is survival and getting through this very challenging financial period. Daniel will talk about it in a little more detail in his column, but we were delighted to announce the Club’s financial results for last year recently. The record revenues off the back of the ICC Cricket World Cup, the Ashes and significantly increased Vitality Blast attendances in 2019, show how far we have come in recent years. To increase operating profit tenfold in five years is quite an achievement. Whilst last year’s bumper year of cricket is helping the Club financially through this challenging period, we still have a long way to go because of the complete loss of revenue streams.

We are planning for, and hoping for, a truncated cricket season towards the back end of the summer... focusing on forms of the game that will provide the greatest financial return which suggest international and domestic T20 cricket

As I’ve already mentioned, the togetherness of everyone involved has filled me with pride in recent weeks. It’s very much a cliché, but when times are tough, people’s characteristics really come out. Throughout the last few tumultuous weeks, all our stakeholders, including the Membership, Metro Bank, commercial partners and staff, to name just a few, have shown us genuine unity and resolve to get through this together. The team have been working incredibly hard over the past couple of months, creating additional content across our digital platforms, including the excellent ‘Lancashire Legends’ series, which I hope you have all enjoyed. To hear from the likes of Wasim Akram, Neil Fairbrother, Ian Austin, Stuart Law and Andrew Flintoff has been fascinating, and I would also like to thank Warren Hegg who has hosted them fantastically. We have also been calling Members, via staff, the Members’ Representative Group (MRG) and the playing squad over the

last six weeks. I’d like to thank Chris Bent and Phil Clarke in particular from the MRG in supporting the Club with this, and I’m sure for those of you that have had a call, they have been well-received at a difficult time. It’s not possible to call everyone, but for as long we’re in lockdown, we will continue to do so. We have a duty of care not just to everyone involved with playing or the running of the Club, but to those Members and fans that have supported us, those who have been with us through thick and thin over a number of years. At this time of the year, we’d have already played a number of County Championship fixtures by now, and whilst it’s frustrating and disappointing, it is the situation we find ourselves in and we must do our best to get through it. Being a Member of a county cricket club is so much more than being a Season Ticket holder at a football or rugby club. This is what makes our sport so unique. We are a Members’

Club and I believe that is very special. This is your Club, and you can help to make it remain a sustainable business, supporting the continuation of professional and recreational cricket and the growth of women’s and girls’ cricket, by considering becoming a ‘Loyal Member’. We hope you are in a financial position to be able to consider this as it is so important to us at this time. We are inviting all of the Club’s Members to become a ‘Loyal Member’ in 2020, where you can donate 100% of your membership fee this year regardless of any cricket taking place. If you are able to become a Loyal Member by donating your 2020 fee, we would very much appreciate this and unless you tell us otherwise before August 1 2020, we will automatically upgrade your Membership status. If you do not feel able to upgrade to ‘Loyal Member’ status, and in the event of not being able to access any domestic cricket in 2020 at all, there will be a route to a refund in October 2020. We will let you know more about this process later in the year when we have clarity on the final schedule from the ECB

and have been able to fully consider the impact on your Membership benefits as a whole. Finally, I want to thank you for your continued support. There has never been a time when the Club has needed it more than now. I’ve been encouraged to see the Membership numbers increase over the past two years and we will continue to enhance Member facilities and work closely with the Members’ Representative Group and all of you, to pursue David’s ambition of building the world’s best cricket club. I am committed to ensuring that communication lines are open between the Club and its Membership. As soon as we have more information regarding a potential start to the season, we shall be in touch. We hugely appreciate your patience and understanding in all of this. Thank you so much for your support.

Acting Chairman, Les Platts

We have a duty of care not just to everyone involved with playing or the running of the Club, but to those Members and fans that have supported us

Daniel

Gidney — CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER —

must start these pages with a personal tribute to our much-loved Chairman, David Hodgkiss OBE. David was a kind, caring soul and a hugely successful businessman, but above all he was Lancashire through and through. He put his life and soul into the Club in a variety of positions and I know it was a proud day when he was named Chairman of Lancashire Cricket three years ago. David became a very close friend and someone who I relied on greatly during our time working together. He had a cool, calm head and was measured in his work both with us and William Hare Group, the hugely successful company he was Chief Executive of. From the players and coaching staff through to everyone who works at Lancashire Cricket and Emirates Old Trafford, we will all miss David immensely. When it is safe to do so, we will remember David appropriately. David’s legacy will be long lasting and felt by generations to come at the Club. He was the driving force behind the ten year stadium redevelopment programme, indeed the new development projects of the new Red Rose

stand and second hotel become our collective responsibility to deliver for him when the time is right and funding is available. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly been one of the toughest times of my career. Once the seriousness of the disease started to become apparent, phones at Emirates Old Trafford literally stopped ringing overnight and caused significant cash flow issues in a way that is completely unprecedented. These are genuinely uncharted waters, not just for us but all businesses around the country. Unlike a recession, and I have worked through two of those, we expect the recovery to come quickly and we have to be ready for that. We are protecting our biggest asset, our staff, and everyone has agreed to a 20% wage reduction for May and June, while we have also placed a number of our staff on furlough as we navigate through the current crisis. We hope these short-term measures enable us to be back running at high capacity once it is safe to do so. At the time of writing the structure of any county cricket season

remains unclear. We are all eager to see cricket return as soon as possible, but it must not be to the detriment of the country’s health or put anyone in the game at risk. We will work with the Government’s medical departments and all other stakeholders in the game to see if there is a way to deliver cricket before the end of the summer. The financial and logistical challenges of the coronavirus outbreak will continue for a number of months but we are fortunate to come into 2020 off the back of record financial results which were announced recently. With a 2019 turnover of in excess of £34million, of which only £3m is centrally distributed broadcast revenue, Lancashire Cricket is placed above a number of smaller Premier League Clubs once broadcast revenue is excluded on a like-for-like basis. We were able to capitalise on the hosting of six ICC Cricket World Cup matches and enjoyed record Vitality Blast crowds, all of which contributed significantly to these results as well as another positive year for conferencing and events at Emirates Old Trafford and the continued success of the on-site Hilton Garden Inn hotel.

The record financial success for the Club in 2019, coupled with a refinancing to Metro Bank earlier last year, has enabled the Club to return to positive balance sheet territory and offered the Club some room to manoeuvre as it steers its way through the coronavirus crisis. Metro Bank have been very proactive in their support for the Club as the events surrounding the disease growing in the UK has evolved. The record financial year and re-financing provide the Club with the platform to navigate the short term challenges and to bridge to an at best truncated and busy cricket season later in the summer followed by a strong order book of rebooked conference, events and hotel stays postponed from the spring. This success is by no means the summit of the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future aspirations and ambitions. Indeed, it provides a perfect platform for future growth. We will be well placed to return bigger and better, and to help Manchester as a city recover from the negative effects of the disease. The cricketing hiatus is especially difficult to take for us as we looked all set for a huge summer of cricket. Glen Chapple and the coaching staff spoke on numerous occasions about the successes of pre-season up until the point where it could no longer continue, and our squad looked particularly well placed for a strong return to the top division of the County Championship after winning Division Two so comprehensively last season. Before the lockdown period started the Club engaged in a series of trips to India, culminating in a pre-season tour for Glen Chappleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side. James Sheridan, our senior independent director, visited the country on a trade mission with the ManchesterIndia Partnership in late 2019 to explore collaborative links with the country. That led to a visit in February, with Keaton Jennings part of a delegation from the Club, and preceded the pre-season tour,

Reliance Corporate Park, Lancashire’s base during the pre-season trip to India

which involved a high standard of practice at Reliance Corporate Park, the home of IPL side Mumbai Indians, followed by a match against a Reliance XI. Following on from successfully hosting three matches involving India in the ICC Cricket World Cup last summer, we wanted to explore how we could increase our presence in a cricket-mad country and explore potential opportunities ahead of hosting them again for a Test match next summer. We were afforded the opportunity to network with some of India’s largest businesses from the travel and tourism industry and were invited to contribute to the IndiaUK Sports Alliance conference. From a playing perspective, the players and coaching staff commented on the incredible level of facilities on offer and hope to return as part of our pre-season preparations in 2021. David was passionate about the Club pivoting east and putting India at the

heart of our external strategy for Lancashire Cricket going forward. In support of the recreational game, we held the first-ever Cricket Expo event at Emirates Old Trafford over the final weekend of February. It was great to see thousands of players, officials and representatives from Clubs all over the county for what was deemed by all as a hugely successful first event and one we hope to replicate in the future. Back in February we also had the very first Hall of Fame ceremony, recognising seven of the finest players ever to wear the Red Rose. This Club is one of the most historic in world cricket and so to select just seven names from an almost endless list of stellar players throughout the years must have been a difficult task. We look forward to hosting similar ceremonies for years to come and reminding ourselves of those who have helped make Lancashire Cricket what it is today.

We were looking forward to hosting The Killers in May, welcoming one of the world’s biggest and well-known bands to Emirates Old Trafford. The impact of coronavirus inevitably meant a postponement of this concert, but we were delighted the promotional company and the band worked swiftly to confirm an alternative date and we are now set to host them on 12 June next year. To you, the valued Members of Lancashire Cricket, I want to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support. This Club has survived World Wars and recessions, and we will find a way through this. Keep yourselves and your loved ones safe, and we look forward to seeing you at Emirates Old Trafford as soon as it is safe to do so.

Chief Executive Daniel Gidney

Paul

Allott — DIRECTOR OF CRICKET —

would like to start off my first Spin column with a personal tribute to our former Chairman, David Hodgkiss OBE. I was hugely shocked and saddened when I heard the news. Having known him for over thirty years, I had not only built a strong working relationship, but also a friendship. He was truly a great man and will be loss to all of us at Emirates Old Trafford.

David put so much into the Club over so many years and he never took anything out. He was a truly selfless individual and a huge benefactor to this Club, a driving force behind our commercial success in recent years and a hugely influential figure in putting the Club on a sound financial footing. But he never lost sight of the fact that Lancashire is, and always will be, a cricket club and that the game should be fun and enjoyable. David was incredibly popular with the players, taking time to get to know each and every one individually, and took no greater pride than handing out caps to those players fortunate enough to earn their Red Rose.

He recognised and understood that Emirates Old Trafford was more than just a business enterprise, and whilst he helped ensure the Club’s financial survival through some really difficult times, he was a players’ man, constantly badgering me about all things Lancashire, ensuring players were properly looked after and I know his loss will be keenly felt by them in the changing room. He was a father figure in many ways, full of life and joy, and always concerned to make sure that everyone was welcome at the Club and that it retained a family atmosphere. Moving on to the current situation, it is normally Glen Chapple, as Head Coach, who writes this Spin column, but given no cricket has taken place we thought it would be more appropriate for it to come from myself as Director of Cricket. At the current time of writing, we are still very unsure on what a 2020 domestic cricket schedule is going to look like. All the counties are in constant contact the ECB, who are in touch with the Government on the best course of action moving forward. Whilst

we are all desperate for cricket, and sport in most cases, to return, we must only start training and playing when it is safe to do so. Cricket is just a game and when hundreds of people are sadly passing away daily, things get put into perspective. Whilst a large proportion of the Club’s staff are currently on furlough, we made the decision not to furlough the players on the basis that we wanted to keep in full contact and allow full access to backroom staff. The whole squad have been following physical programmes as set out by Tom Webster (Strength and Conditioning Coach), Sam Byrne (Lead Physiotherapist) and nutritional advice from Sam Barrow, while adhering to the Government guidelines and all of the coaches have remained in touch with them on an individual and team basis. We do not know how much notice we will get from the ECB regarding any kind of fixture schedule, so we need to ensure the players are in the best shape possible. We must also consider their mental wellbeing as well as their physical conditioning. We’re lucky

to have a highly experienced sports Psychologist in Lee Richardson, who has worked for the Club for nearly a decade and is in contact with all of our professional players. As you may have already seen, we took the decision to mutually terminate the contracts of this year’s overseas players in BJ Watling, James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell. We concluded that in the current financial climate, it would be a prudent decision and we have options to sign the players for the 2021 season, but of course depend on international schedules, form and fitness. I have been hugely impressed with the players over the last couple of months, particularly with their willingness to get involved and help the Club out in any way

they can. They, along with the MRG and other staff members, have been calling Members. I believe that the calls have been very well received, which is great. Just like everyone else at the Club, the squad unanimously agreed to a 20% salary reduction for this May. The players were very keen that any salary reductions for them should be in line with the rest of the Club’s staff. It has truly been a unified approach to what is a very difficult situation. During the winter, I was delighted to see Matt Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood make their international debuts, and also Keaton Jennings being recalled for England. To see any player from the Club make their bow on the world stage is a proud moment for us, but it is always extra special

when they are products of our Academy as Matt and Saqib are. In particular, Matt spent most of his winter with England and I am sure we would have seen the best of him in Sri Lanka before that tour was unfortunately cut short. The fact that both of them spent so long touring this winter shows the kind of esteem the England coaching staff hold them in; I am sure we will be seeing both of them in the Three Lions jersey for years to come. Finally, I just wanted to say thank you to all our Members for your support, patience and understanding. Like I mentioned earlier, a situation like this puts things into perspective and I’m sure I speak for everyone that when it is safe to do so, we’ll all enjoy walking through the gates at Emirates Old Trafford to watch Lancashire that little bit more. Kind regards,

Paul Allott Director of Cricket

LANCASHIRE DURING COVID-19 The Club, led by Warren Hegg, has been aiming to keep in touch with as many Members as possible during the coronavirus outbreak Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Lancashire Cricket have been using a range of initiatives to keep in touch with supporters. Former Lancashire captain Warren Hegg has been central in helping the club keep a check on some of the most vulnerable Members during the coronavirus outbreak with catch-up phone calls. Hegg, who retired from playing in 2005, is currently Head of Cricket Business, has led the players and staff’s efforts to call around the Club’s elder Members during a time when many look forward to spending six months watching cricket at Emirates Old Trafford. “Part of what we’re doing is getting players and other key figures on the cricket side of the club to speak to a targeted group of members and just catch up with them,” Hegg explained. “We’ll have a chat and reminisce about their favourite games and players, how long they’ve been a member and make sure they’re doing alright in general at this time.

“Most of those we’re speaking to are above 80-years-old. At this time of year, they are usually counting the days down until they get to see their first games of the summer. “The calls from those we have spoken to have been really well received. I have enjoyed catching up, speaking about teams and players from years past, and I know the current crop of players have enjoyed it too.” The Club’s efforts have been fantastically supported by the Members Representative Group (MRG), led by Colin Gore and Phil Clarke. The MRG have assisted by reaching out to over 100 Members, helping Lancashire Cricket reach as many people as possible during these times. Club staff have also assisted, making it a true Club-wide approach. Hegg has also fronted a new Lancashire Legends series, which has gone down well among the Club’s Membership. Every Thursday, the former ‘keeper has caught up with an ex-player from the Red Rose, primarily to check in on their health and wellbeing

during the pandemic but also to talk about times past. The series of talks have included the likes of Wasim Akram, Neil Fairbrother and Andrew Flintoff from their own homes, bringing Lancashire supporters closer than ever to the names most synonymous with the Red Rose. To complement this, there have been a number of archived matches hosted on the Club’s website as part of the Lancashire rewind feature, including Benson & Hedges Cup and NatWest

BEFORE

Saqib Mahmood has transformed his garage into a personal gym during the coronavirus pandemic

The calls from those we have spoken to have been really well received. I have enjoyed catching up, speaking about teams and players from years past, and I know the current crop of players have enjoyed it too

players and they have been involved in a wide-range of initiatives to support the Club’s commercial and marketing efforts during this time.

AFTER

It has allowed players continued access to the backroom staff and the ability to follow home workout programmes as set out by the medical staff as well as access to Lee Richardson, the Club’s highly experienced Sports Psychologist. Gym equipment from Emirates Old Trafford was delivered to each player early in the lockdown period and many have created dedicated spaces at home to workout.

AFTER

Trophy wins. There was also a live re-run of the Lancashire vs Kent Vitality Blast quarter-final from 2015, where the Lightning secured a berth at Finals Day on the very last ball and a dedicated Champions 2011 day on Bank Holiday Friday including a re-run of Lancashire’s Magical Season, the DVD produced at the time of the success. And Hegg has also hosted a new Friday Night In show, catching up over video call with a number of the Club’s players each Friday evening in an informal setting and chatting about how they have found the ongoing situation from a physical and mental perspective. Lancashire Cricket also took the decision not to furlough its

Opening batsman Keaton Jennings has also led a fitness initiative spanning across the Academy, Age Group and supporters network. Initially leading online, video-based sessions for the Club’s young players alongside Performance Director and Assistant Head Coach, Mark Chilton, and Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach, Tom Webster, Jennings has been joined by fellow professionals Rob Jones and Matt Parkinson in recent weeks to deliver the activities and take part in a Q&A afterwards. And despite a lack of grassroots cricket, Lancashire Cricket Foundation has also released a number of activities on social media to keep young cricketers engaged. Chance To Shine collaborations have offered regular challenges, while excellent examples of innovation during this period have been encouraged and shared for all to see. For as long as this period without cricket continues, Lancashire Cricket will aim to keep providing innovative ways to bring cricket to you and stay in touch with as many Members as possible until we get the chance to see you all at Emirates Old Trafford when it is safe to do so.

Lancashire Cricket announces record profit for 2019 In amongst these unprecedented times, Lancashire Cricket Club is delighted to report on a record year (2019) in financial terms with turnover of £34 million, an operating profit of £7.5million and net profit of in excess of £5 million, all being, by a considerable margin, the highest in the Club’s history.

The Killers concert postponed until June 2021

The Club has seen operating profit grow tenfold in the past five years from £763,000 in 2015 (turnover of £14 million) to £7.5 million last year as Lancashire successfully completed its strategy of continuing to diversify its business model, recruitment of exceptional talent and target investment.

The Killers have re-arranged their Emirates Old Trafford show for Saturday 12 June 2021 after the postponement of their entire tour. The band were set to play at Lancashire Cricket on Saturday 30 May. The tour, the band’s biggest ever, sold out in hours when initial dates went on sale late last year along with the announcement of their upcoming sixth album, Imploding The Mirage. All tickets held for the original dates will be honoured and are transferable to the corresponding 2021 show.

Whilst the Club is currently navigating its way through the COVID-19 pandemic, with revenues plummeting so far this year due to the delay of the cricket season and the current social distancing measures bringing a halt to the conference and hotel business, last year’s record revenues are helping Lancashire Cricket get through this challenging financial climate.

Daniel Gidney, Chief Executive at Lancashire Cricket, said: “Whilst it’s disappointing that we will be unable to host The Killers on 30 May 2020 due to the current climate, the safety and wellbeing of visitors and staff at the stadium are paramount and we completely support the band’s decision to postpone the concert.

The cricketing summer of 2019 was dominated by the ICC Cricket World Cup and the Specsavers Ashes Test series with Emirates Old Trafford hosting twelve days of top level cricket.

“We’re excited to welcome such an iconic rock band to Emirates Old Trafford for a fantastic night of live entertainment and are looking forward to hosting a sell-out crowd and showcasing our world-class stadium to a global audience once more.”

Lancashire offer tickets to NHS heroes Lancashire Cricket has committed to offering up to 5,000 tickets to NHS staff to a Vitality Blast match as a gesture of support for their ongoing heroic efforts in the fight against coronavirus. The Club will offer NHS workers the opportunity to attend a game with their families when it is safe to do so at Emirates Old Trafford.

Overseas player contracts mutually terminated for 2020 Lancashire Cricket have mutually terminated the contracts of the Club’s overseas players BJ Watling, Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner for the 2020 campaign. New Zealand wicket keeper batsman BJ Watling was signed for the opening nine Specsavers County Championship games whilst Maxwell and Faulkner would have played for Lancashire Lightning in the Vitality Blast competition. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current uncertainty surrounding the season, it was mutually agreed that all three contracts for the 2020 season would be cancelled following discussions with the players and their representatives. Lancashire’s Director of Cricket, Paul Allott, said: “These are clearly very uncertain and challenging times for all counties both financially and operationally and it’s clear the issues we face at the moment will have an impact on the way we prepare for the domestic season. “We will keep in touch with the players and their representatives, and as part of the agreement we’ve come to, we do have an option to sign them for the 2021 campaign.

It is the first of the Club’s commitments to honour and thank those fighting on the front line to keep our Members, supporters, staff and stakeholders safe. Lancashire Cricket Chief Executive, Daniel Gidney, said: “This is a small token of our appreciation towards those who are doing themselves, the NHS and the whole country proud in fighting this disease.”

Earlier this year, the Lancashire Cricket Hall of Fame was officially opened with the first seven inductees. Spin Magazine takes an exclusive look back on an historic evening at Emirates Old Trafford. here was barely a dry eye in the house as Jack Simmons presented Florence Bond with Hall of Fame cap number four for her late husband, Jack Bond. On an already emotional evening of reflection on the influence of seven Lancashire Cricket giants, Simmons’ emotive speech was enough for anyone even remotely connected to the Red Rose to shed a tear or two.

On Thursday 20 February, the first seven players were entered into Lancashire Cricket’s Hall of Fame. How do you go about picking only seven from a Club with such a long, rich and distinguished history in the game? It was a nigh on impossible tasked faced

by Head of Cricket Business, Warren Hegg, Malcolm Lorimer, Keith Hayhurst and the Club’s board. After much deliberation and discussion, the names were rubber stamped and revealed: AN Hornby, Cyril Washbrook, Brian Statham, Jack Bond, Farokh Engineer, Jack Simmons and Sir Clive Lloyd. Four of the selected are sadly no longer with us, while Simmons and Sir Clive were in attendance during the evening. Farokh Engineer, unable to make it due to a family bereavement, still managed to light up the room from over 4,500 miles away in Mumbai with a video message. Those present will doubtless take up Farokh’s offer of a drink “with every single person in the

room” on his return to Emirates Old Trafford. And so to the evening itself, presented by ex-Lancashire bowler and current Director of Cricket Paul Allott, was a fine way in which to officially open what will become a distinguished Hall of Fame. Moments of quiet reflection, moments of laughter through stories and anecdotes and, above all, moments of appreciation for the service seven giants of the game gave to this county. AN Hornby, the earliest member of the inductees, has the honour of forever being the Hall of Fame number one. Nicknamed ‘Monkey Hornby’, his distinguished career in the late 19th century was perfectly recalled by Club Historian,

until the permanent Hall of Fame memorial is erected. Another former England batsman in Cyril Washbrook followed, his career colourfully and enthusiastically recollected by Keith Hayhurst. Famed for wearing his cap crooked at an angle and for a confident swagger out to the middle, Washbrook’s career was remembered in detail, including his many duels with Australia as an England player over the years. His return to a playing Malcolm Lorimer. Given the time of his career, Hornby may have been the least familiar name among those in the room but his influence – for England as well as Lancashire, and rugby union as well as cricket – did not go understated as Lorimer talked through the opening batsman’s career, including his partnership with Dick Barlow from which Francis Thompson wrote the famous poem, At Lord’s. His cap will proudly be displayed in Nantwich Museum

role at the age of 41 and scoring 98 against the Aussies was a particularly well received anecdote about a colossal figure who scored nearly 28,000 runs for Lancashire. Allott briefly broke away from compering duties to talk about one of his fast bowling heroes, Brian Statham. Lucky enough to have worked with the man himself, Allott passionately described how Statham nurtured young bowlers and passed on his knowledge once his playing days were finished; all 2,200+ First-Class wickets of knowledge, a total of 1,816 for Lancashire that will never be surpassed. Brian’s son, Terry, was obviously bursting with pride as he received the cap on behalf of his father. A road named after him, an end named after him and now a place in the Hall of Fame; careers don’t come more distinguished than Brian Statham’s with Lancashire. To perhaps potentially the most poignant moment of the evening as Allott handed

over the reins to Simmons, who recounted tale after tale about Jack Bond, the man he described as “the greatest captain I ever played for.” There was the transformation of Lancashire’s One-Day side into a trophy-laden period for the Club, the ability to extract the best out of everyone as captain and a personal tale or two to boot. *That* catch may have been mentioned on one or two occasions as well. Visibly holding back the tears, Simmons

summed it up perfectly: “I couldn’t be more delighted for anybody to get a cap than Jack Bond.” What also followed was a heartfelt tribute by John Gwynne, the long-time cricket commentator and current PA Announcer at Emirates Old Trafford, to Jack Bond’s wife, Florence. “I would like to say thank you on behalf of every single Lancashire supporter”: A touching moment and true

Farokh Engineer, one of the greatest overseas imports into county cricket, was up next. While not present, his presence was certainly felt via video message and the tales of his career reminded all of a trailblazing wicketkeeper whose attacking, maverick style of batting were ahead of his time. How well would he have fared in the modern day Twenty20 format, you have to wonder?

for an intimate talk-in, regaling the crowd with tales from that incredible side of the 70s. Pin drop silence punctuated only by moments of laughter, notably when Simmons recalled a time he told the West Indies’ changing room Viv Richards was the best player he had ever seen, to which they said he wasn’t even the best in the team and pointed towards the figure of Sir Clive who happened to be sleeping in the changing room at the time, such was his laid back nature.

And then there were two. Welcomed up to the stage with rousing applause to join Allott, Simmons and Sir Clive Lloyd captured the attention of all inside the 1864 Lounge

The re-structured Former Players’ Association has brought ex-Lancashire players back closer to the Club and perhaps more involved that at any time in the past. Warren Hegg, a Red

reflection of what ‘Bondy’ means to Lancashire’s Members.

Rose legend in his own right, has worked tirelessly to revive the Association and reconnect those who have represented Lancashire, whether that be for one or 501 matches. A regular programme of events throughout the season has seen numbers swell and we will likely see more legends returning to Emirates Old Trafford over this and future seasons. The Hall of Fame, meanwhile, is set to go from strength to strength. Another ceremony will take place next year and further down the line, a permanent memorial will be installed once the new stand development is complete. In the meantime, the Hall of Fame will be displayed in the Pavilion Long Room and Members will be encouraged to put forward their nominations for inclusion in future years. Recognising those who have given so much to Lancashire Cricket is key as the current crop of heroes create memories for current and future generations – and the ceremony was a fitting way to officially open the Lancashire Cricket Hall of Fame.

“I WANT TO CHALLENGE MYSELF AND PROVE I CAN DO THINGS THAT OTHERS PERHAPS DON’T THINK I CAN” — F E AT U R E I N T E R V I E W —

Liam Livingstone has a plan for career progression, and red ball cricket is very much at the heart of it.

ivingstone is currently better known around the world for his exploits in Twenty20 cricket. An aggressive batsman, the Lancashire star has turned heads during the most recent winter playing in domestic competitions in South Africa (Cape Town Blitz), Australia (Perth Scorchers) and Pakistan (Peshawar Zalmi).

But he is not happy with the idea of being pigeon-holed. He wants to play Test cricket for England and, more importantly for Red Rose followers, win a County Championship title with his county, following in the footsteps of the class of 2011. Unfortunately, though, Livingstone’s plan has been put on hold by the Coronavirus pandemic. Had the county season started on time in April, the 26-year-old was due to play a run of four-day matches instead of returning to the Indian Premier League with Rajasthan Royals, a competition in which he played last year. “Rajasthan wanted me to go back, but I just felt at this stage of my career, missing seven Championship games would have been the wrong thing to do,” he explained. “The last thing I want to do is finish my career having

not won the County Championship, and I think this year’s squad is as good as any I’ve ever been a part of. We had a great chance to challenge for the title. “Also, if I want to play Test cricket, I don’t think I can afford not to be playing Championship cricket.” As the first half of this article indicates, Livingstone is an extremely driven individual: “I want to prove to people that I’m not just a white ball slogger. I can play proper cricket,” he said. “Everyone will see me as a white ball player, but my First-Class record (2,955 runs from 54 matches at an average of 41.61) is one I’m pretty proud of.” Where Livingstone has been this winter, there has been no need for the stock attire in his hometown of Barrow-in-Furness; wooly hat, scarf, gloves and a thick coat. He has just had to make sure his passport has been close to hand. He continued: “Stepping onto a plane now just feels like I’m stepping into a car. It’s kind of becoming a normality. “My winter started playing for Cape Town in South Africa, which was a really good

tournament (Mzansi Super League). With there only being six teams, the standard of all of them was very high. That was a great starting point for me and a leader into the Big Bash with the Scorchers, which was a lot of fun. “The Big Bash involved a lot of travelling. That was different and tough at times, but as a life experience it was great. Cricket wise, it was very good. The standard was brilliant, and the entertainment side of it as well, the way they do it around the cricket, is very good. “To be able to have the new Perth Stadium as my home ground was amazing. It’s one of the best I’ve played in. All in all it was great fun. “Both competitions were pretty disappointing in the sense we thought we had strong chances in both and just missed

out on qualifying for the knockouts in the last game.” For Cape Town, he batted in the middle order and scored 208 runs from nine matches with one fifty before plundering 425 runs from 14 matches as an opener for Perth, including four fifties. He also added four wickets with his handy spinners following a solitary strike in South Africa, where his Blitz side were coached by a former ‘Prince’ of the Red Rose. “I had great fun working with Ashwell again,” he said. “To be able to pick his brains for a couple of weeks was brilliant, and to be able to play with the likes of Dale Steyn and Quinton de Kock was a great learner for me. Then, the Big Bash was exactly the same with Adam Voges as coach. “Both coaches have great experience around the world playing Test cricket as well as T20. It was more just chatting cricket with Ashwell. I know him from Lancs, and he was the one all of us young lads looked up to and wanted to be like when we were coming through into the first team. “Adam was similar, although a bit more T20 based. I didn’t really know much about Australian conditions at that level, and he helped me out a lot with ideas and thoughts. From where I was at the start of the competition to how I finished, I think you could see how much and how quickly I had learnt. “We probably didn’t have quite as strong a team as we would have liked at Perth because we had some injuries. But, personally, I was really happy with my form. I started off slowly in the Big Bash but finished well. Hopefully it will lead on to a few more opportunities.” Livingstone then scored 108 runs in eight matches for Peshawar in the PSL, a competition cut short by the Coronavirus. He hit one fifty in his second campaign in Pakistan, having previously played for Lahore. Whatever else happens in his career, Livingstone will be able to reflect on being amongst a group of players who helped to deliver the return of top-class cricket back to Pakistan following the well documented security issues across the last 11 years. “It’s a great place to play,” he said. “If you look back to last year when we went to play finals there, they see us as heroes for bringing cricket back to Pakistan. That’s really humbling.”

“WE HAVE A GREAT UNIT; ONE OF THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY” — P L AY E R I N T E R V I E W —

As a fast bowler in particular, Lancashire is almost the perfect county to play for. Just ask England Lion Richard Gleeson, a man who is loving life at Emirates Old Trafford.

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he Red Rose bowling stocks may be bursting at the seams, but that is certainly by design and not by accident. Anderson, Bailey, Gleeson, Hurt, Lester, Mahmood, Onions and Wood. Even then the list goes on when you add in the likes of all-rounders Bohannon and Lamb plus the plethora of young up-and-comers.

As Blackpool-born Gleeson, 32, explains, rest and rotation is the aim as the coaching staff look to continually get the best out of the group. “If you need a rest, you get one,” he said. “There will, obviously, be times when you get rested and you don’t think you need it, but there is so much talk about bowlers’ workloads, and for us it’s handy to have that rotation. “There’s a lot of talk about the Australian domestic set-up and a lot less (Sheffield Shield) games helping them produce fast, fast bowlers. Hopefully producing bowlers with an extra yard or two is something that can happen at Lancs. “When I signed from Northants at the end of 2018, that was part of the conversation. It was the same with Luke Wood when he signed. He knows he won’t play every game, but it will ultimately benefit you as you work through all the competitions. It gives you time to work on different skills away from matches. “We have a great unit, and each one adds something different - pace, moving the ball both ways, left-arm. It’s probably one of the best seam attacks in the country, and then you add in Matt Parkinson, Stephen Parry and the other spinners. It’s a very strong position to be in.” Last season, Gleeson played nine Specsavers County Championship matches from mid-May onwards, taking a superb 47 wickets with five hauls of five wickets or more. His return, not discounting further contributions in the Vitality Blast, was especially impressive given he battled against a back issue from pre-season onwards. “I felt I was in a great place last winter, as fit as I’ve ever felt,” he said. “But we were out in Dubai and I was bowling really quick in a practice game and I picked up the injury. “I missed out on the One-Day comp and struggled with a few other niggles from there. But I managed to get through and perform. I still wouldn’t say I was at my best last season, which is nice to say given I performed well.”

This summer - as long as Coronavirus permits some cricket - will be Gleeson’s sixth as a county professional, three and a bit which came as a Northamptonshire player having impressed playing for Blackpool and for Cumberland in Minor Counties cricket, all whilst working as a coach with the Lancashire Cricket Board. Since then, he has represented the England Lions and played in overseas T20 leagues such as the Bangladesh Premier League and, this winter, Australia’s Big Bash with Melbourne Renegades. “Step by step each year, hopefully I’ll keep improving for as long as I can. Going from Minor Counties cricket to county cricket and then the Lions and also travelling around the world playing in various competitions, it’s a long way from where I thought I was going to be when I was 26. It’s certainly been good fun for the last few years. “When I first came into the game, because I had a career path and a house - those sorts of things, it took the pressure off quite a bit. It allowed me to focus on enjoying the game and testing myself against some top players. “Now, a few years into it, that pressure is definitely there because you want to do well for your team, and it’s also a great lifestyle. But I know at the end of the day it’s not the be all and end all. There are always things outside the cricket bubble.” Gleeson’s last few months have been different to say the least. He has had to deal with lockdown like the rest of us, but doing so with a newborn baby in the household - a little boy, Rory, born on the eve of the original season’s start date. Back to cricket and whenever the County Championship does resume, be it in 2020 or 2021, it will provide Gleeson with a different test in Division One as the majority of his career has been played out in the second tier. However, confidence is high that he can flourish. He added: “There are some good players in Division Two, but it’s obviously going to be a step up. I’ve held my own at each level I’ve stepped up to. I know if I do my things as best I can, I can get anybody out. I have that confidence and belief in myself. I’ve got no fears going into Division One, just excitement.”

CRICKET EXPO he first ever Lancashire Cricket Expo saw more than 3,000 cricket lovers from around the county pack out Emirates Old Trafford over the final weekend in February.

A free event put on by Lancashire Cricket and the Lancashire Cricket Foundation, the Expo was designed with the idea of connecting with the recreational game and offering clubs a service ahead of the start of the 2020 season. There was a star-studded line-up as, along with over 50 cricket brands exhibiting their latest products, James Anderson, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd and Michael Vaughan all gave keynote addresses inside The Point. ICC Cricket World Cup winner Jos Buttler was also in attendance on Day One, thrilling supporters with photo opportunities alongside the famous trophy which England lifted last July. Buttler also took part in a fascinating batting masterclass with Assistant Coach Mark Chilton, offering an insight into the mind of an elite international batsman. Head Coach Glen Chapple led a fast bowling masterclass with Liam Hurt while Academy Director Gary Yates and Performance Manager Karl Krikken offered their expertise in spin bowling and wicketkeeping masterclasses. A series of interesting workshops, designed to help clubs to enhance their cricketing offers, also took place with Sustainable Clubs, Women and Girls’ Cricket, Junior Cricket, Groundsmanship and online tool Play-Cricket all on the agenda. Attendees also had the opportunity to take a tour of the Emirates Old Trafford dressing room and take part in activation sessions such as All Stars and Dynamos Cricket, Wicketz and the chance to step inside the BatFast simulator. Head of Cricket Business Warren Hegg, who led on the event, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled with the turnout for the first ever Lancashire Cricket Expo. “To see over 3,000 attendees, more than 50 exhibitors and several huge names from world cricket all come together under the Emirates Old Trafford roof was a phenomenal sight to witness. “The weekend truly offered something for everybody, at all levels of cricket, and we hope that the Expo proved of great use for recreational cricket clubs ahead of the new season.”

“IT’S A COUNTRY WHICH TESTS THE EXTREMES OF BATTING AND BOWLING” After a training camp in the heat and humidity at Reliance Corporate Park in Mumbai, new signing Luke Wood is hoping to return in future following a profitable time in India

uke Wood, Lancashire’s new seam bowling signing, is hoping February’s week-long training camp in Mumbai will be repeated in future years.

The former Nottinghamshire left-armer was part of the 13-man squad which trained for five days at the Reliance Park venue, the training base of Indian Premier League powerhouse Mumbai Indians, and then finished the tour off with a Twenty20 friendly against a local Reliance XI side. The mid-February visit was in conjunction with the Manchester India Partnership, who bring together businesses, universities and the public sector to strengthen economic ties between Manchester and India. It was supposed to be the precursor to a more extensive pre-season tour of Dubai and Potchefstroom last month, though that ended up being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the end, the week’s work in the sub-continent was absolutely crucial for Wood and his teammates in terms of at least getting in some meaningful cricket activity prior to the UK going into lockdown. “It was a bit different to what I’ve experienced before because I’d never been to the sub-continent before. I’d been to Dubai, but it’s not really the same,” said Wood. “It was hot, obviously, and tough work, but what the lads gained out of the trip was pretty spot on. “The good thing about India is that there are so many resources when it comes to cricket. There are plenty of net bowlers around of good quality, the nets were good, and we were looked after really well. The hotel was nice as well. It was topped off by a good T20 game at the end against a good team, which we won. “Pretty much all round, it would be a no brainer if we were thinking of going back for either a similar trip or a main pre-season tour.”

Although the tour was wrapped up with a T20 fixture against a Reliance XI including some up and coming Mumbai Indians players, the main focus was red ball practice in anticipation of the start of the Specsavers County Championship campaign on Easter Sunday. As we know now, that did not happen. “In many ways, it’s a country which tests the extremes of batting and bowling,” Wood continued. “With the ball, I pretty much treated it as the middle of a four-day game when the pitch isn’t doing much. I was practicing those sorts of skills and honing my plan for that kind of scenario. It’s something you don’t necessarily practice in England. On those sorts of trips, you might find out something that works for you that you wouldn’t have done being indoors. Another one was working on my batting. You get to face a lot of spin out there.” The Red Rose beat the Reliance XI by six runs, defending a total of 145-4, which included a top-score of 37 not out from Rob Jones. Liam Hurt then claimed two wickets in the defence, while Wood and youngsters Tom Hartley and Jack Morley all struck. “It was a good game,” said Wood. “It almost makes you a bit more hungry for the season to come.

The good thing about India is that there are so many resources when it comes to cricket. There are plenty of net bowlers around of good quality, the nets were good, and we were looked after really well I know it’s quite early to play a game, in February, but it gets the competitive juices flowing. They were a good side, and it was a real test for us. Thankfully we won.” The tour also piqued Wood’s curiosity for a cricket mad nation, with him adding: “You can almost gauge what a massive thing the IPL is even though it was a long way off. Where we were it was quite a secure area, so people couldn’t just wander in and out. But the side we played against, when they trained just after us, there were still 80 or 90 people there watching them train. Then, the net bowlers bowled to us all day and stayed behind to bowl at them. The love they have for cricket is unbelievable.”

“I’VE COME BACK A BETTER CRICKETER” — P L AY E R I N T E R V I E W —

Matthew Parkinson represented England only 12 times across three tours, including four full internationals, but the star Lancashire leg-spinner admits there is little else he would change about his first winter away with the Three Lions.

arkinson, 23, was one of only three players selected in all squads - red and white ball - across the three tours to New Zealand, South Africa and then Sri Lanka alongside Surrey’s Sam Curran and Kent’s Joe Denly.

Parkinson wasn’t exposed to as much game time as those two, claiming a total of five wickets - all in T20s in New Zealand - yet he still looks back on his time away from the Emirates Old Trafford indoor school extremely fondly. “It was very enjoyable,” he said. “To go every winter tour for your country across all formats is amazing, and I’d like to think I’ve come back a better cricketer. The start of winter was really good with the T20s in New Zealand, but it probably went off the boil a bit from there to be honest. But I must have been doing something right to have been picked on every trip. “I like to think that when I did play, I wasn’t out of my depth. The time spent in that environment I’m sure will have improved me and hopefully I can bring things that I’ve learnt back and use them for Lancashire.

“When you spend every day training alongside some of the best in the world - Root, Buttler, Stokes, Broad - and working with Jeetan Patel as spin coach, that can only stand you in good stead.” Parkinson’s form since debuting for Lancashire in 2016 has been superb. He has taken 62 wickets in 20 FirstClass appearances for the Red Rose, but it is with the white ball where he has really turned heads. In the Royal London One-Day Cup, he has taken 30 wickets in 17 games and in Vitality Blast, a standout 60 in 36. It led to a T20 debut for England against New Zealand at Nelson in early November, and three days later he claimed an impressive 4-47 in a high-scoring victory at the postage stamp ground in Napier. It leaves him well placed to be named in England’s squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia through October and November, assuming the tournament goes ahead as planned. One major positive of the winter was the development of a close bond with England’s new spin bowling consultant Jeetan Patel, the Warwickshire’s New

To go every winter tour for your country across all formats is amazing, and I’d like to think I’ve come back a better cricketer

“I struggled a bit in South Africa. Having had such a good start in New Zealand, I didn’t actually play that much on that second tour and it did get to me a bit,” he explained. “But I tried to make the most of that environment. “I was almost tee-ing it for the Sri Lanka Test trip at the end. I had in the back of my mind, ‘Ok, I might not play much in New Zealand or South Africa, but fingers crossed I’ll get a go in Sri Lanka’. So it was disappointing that the trip was called off due to the coronavirus.” As Parkinson says, England’s two-Test tour was aborted midway through a second tour game as the seriousness of the worldwide pandemic became clear.

Zealand veteran off-spinner who has become one of the most dependable spinners in county cricket.

It just didn’t feel right to be there playing cricket when the whole world’s in chaos, and that last game was very odd. I have never played in a game like it

“Jeets was amazing and that was probably the best thing about being on every single tour - I got the time to spend with him,” Parkinson continued. “Those kind of relationships, you can’t force, and it came quite natural to us. “He kept things simple and had some great ideas, some of which I’m currently using. There wasn’t actually too much technical work done, but he was very good tactically. Game awareness was a big thing we discussed.” Naturally, playing little cricket did have its challenges, however.

“The right decision was made,” he said. “It was very strange. It all started off fine, but then things changed almost daily. My girlfriend was meant to be coming out for the tour, and one day it was ok for her to come and then next day it wasn’t. As soon as we found out families weren’t going to be allowed to come, that was when I thought, ‘We may not be staying out here’. “It just didn’t feel right to be there playing cricket when the whole world’s in chaos, and that last game was very odd. I have never played in a game like it. “It didn’t feel like the most important thing to be playing cricket. And when you don’t feel like that wearing an England shirt, it’s time to go home. I found it very hard to psyche myself up for a potential Test debut when all the talk was about this virus.”

PHOTO COURTESY - MEN

GEORGE KENNETH MEDLOCK OBE 1914 – 2020 Club Historian, Rev. Malcolm Lorimer, remembers the life of Lancashire Cricket Vice President, Ken Medlock, who recently passed away at the age of 105 Lancashire Cricket Vice President, Ken Medlock, has died at the age of 105. A frequent visitor to Emirates Old Trafford well beyond his hundredth birthday, he had both a remarkable business career and a keen cricketing background.

undertook cricket tours to New Zealand, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Japan, Sri Lanka and Australia all after the age of 80 and watched his first Test match at Headingley in 1921. Ken could vividly recall Lancashire’s Championship win in 1934. As a senior MCC member, he allowed himself to accept the concession and privilege of a pre-booked seat on the front row of the pavilion terrace.

Ken worked for the Co-operative Society, and in 1960 was promoted from Chief Engineer to Director. His first board meeting was eventful as an agenda item proposed the liquidation of John Wisden. He had not appreciated that CWS owned the company; he objected to the sale and the Chairman withdrew the agenda item. He appointed Ken as the new Chairman of the ailing company with a clear instruction to make it profitable. Over the next decade he did exactly that, and once it was economically sound it was sold on, but his involvement opened up many new opportunities.

In 1972, Ken was one of the prime movers behind the establishment of Radio City (Liverpool) and was Chairman from 1973-1985. He was a long-standing member of the Merseyside Chamber of Commerce and Chairman from 1986-1988. For two decades he was involved with various Voluntary Housing Associations and for a shorter period with the North West Regional Development Agency.

He had struck up a friendship with Sir Learie Constantin, and it was he who suggested that Wisden should donate a trophy, to be played for by England and the West Indies, to coincide with the 100th edition of the Almanack in 1963. Of course, it is still played for today.

He played a major part in the Granada Television’s role in the ITV Telethon in 1988 and Manchester’s bid to host the Olympic Games in the same year. Ken was a keen supporter of local charities and devoted significant time to Life Education Centres, was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside in 1985 and was awarded his OBE in 1989.

A former captain of Birch Vale & Thornsett CC, he was a life member and President for 57 years until 2010. He was also a life member and seven-year President of the Derbyshire & Cheshire Cricket League and a life member of the Forty Club. He

In 2015, along with his wife Edna, Ken was extensively featured in the TV programme ‘100 year old drivers’. He survived Edna who died, aged 102, in 2018.

Meet David Thorley, the new man at the helm tasked with making Lancashire, Cumbria and Cheshire a hotbed for the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cricket.

avid Thorley is ‘massively excited’ to lead an exciting new era after he was appointed as the new Performance Director of Women’s Cricket for both Lancashire Cricket and the new ECB North West Regional Centre of Excellence, which incorporates Cumbria and Cheshire.

Thorley’s ground-breaking appointment follows the ECB’s announcement in October 2019 that it was launching an action plan to transform women’s cricket. The “Inspiring Generations” strategy includes a 10-point action plan which focuses on restructuring participation, pathway, performance, profile and people in the female game, and whilst progress has been halted somewhat by the current COVID-19 pandemic, both Lancashire and the ECB have reaffirmed its commitment to the plan in recent weeks. The move to eight regionalised centres across the country comes as part of the ECB’s plan to transform women and girls’ cricket and will ensure year-round training programmes and full-time contracts for players, across the eight regions, outside of the England Women centrally contracted players. The new Women’s Elite Domestic Structure have been developed by the ECB as part of the structure to help produce more elite women cricketers. Thorley, former Women’s Cricket Manager for the ICC and most recently Head of Talent and Competitions for England Boxing, is the man charged with overseeing Lancashire’s first steps into this bold new world.

“During my time out in Dubai working as the ICC’s Women’s Cricket Manager, it was clear to see that the female game was heading into a really exciting and important period. My role with the ICC was centred around putting together the joint World T20 tournament, working with the ICC’s women’s committee and also looking to boost the profile of the women’s game across the world. “I then enjoyed four-and-a-half great years with England Boxing, which involved overseeing the most successful period in the organisation’s history - in terms of medal return – and I am also proud that we made great strides in improving the transparency of the pathway and the boxer experience too, something which I am definitely keen to implement here at Lancashire. “For me there was a certain romance to taking on this role, as I actually had my first job here at Emirates Old Trafford 14 years ago as Stadium Administrator and Deputy Safety Officer. It’s nice to come full circle and this is a job which ticks a lot of boxes for me.” The search for a permanent Head Coach of Lancashire Women, Lancashire Thunder (regional side) and Manchester Originals, the team competing in the Hundred, which has now been pushed back until 2021 due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, has been temporarily delayed for the time being.

“I’m over the moon,” he said during his first interview at Emirates Old Trafford since being appointed. “This is a great time for women’s cricket, while women’s sport in general is really starting to gather some real momentum around the world.

Once that appointment has been made, Thorley, along with the new Head Coach, will then identify five players to become Lancashire’s first recipients of professional, domestic contracts – joining Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone, who receive central contracts, and Emma Lamb, who recently received a rookie contract from the ECB.

“The cancellation of The Hundred presents obvious additional challenges to the structure of the Women’s game over and above those presented to the game as a whole, but we are working on a plan that will see the Women’s game come out stronger through the other side.

“That will be a total game changer,” said Thorley on the introduction of professional contracts into women’s cricket. “To get five players, along with our centrally contracted players, ensures that we will have hands on active coaching taking place month-tomonth, throughout the year.

“Once the Head Coach is appointed, and in place, we will then start accelerating decisions on who those players will be, we can get talking to them and get everything finalised from there. For those five players, this is going to be a massively exciting time and a chance to accelerate their development by working regularly alongside a top-class coach. “We started interviewing for the new Head Coach just before the COVID-19 pandemic started, and whilst that is currently on hold, we were excited to see the calibre of applicants for the role. We were very open minded going into the search. Whilst we want

to bring in a good technical coach, we are also keen to find a strong communicator and somebody who can guide players with their individual performance plans – as many of these players have never been professional cricketers before. “Hiring a Head Coach to work across Lancashire Women, Lancashire Thunder (the regional side) and Manchester Originals is quite a different approach to the one which has been taken by the other counties and franchises in England. Our ambition is to have somebody in place who can work across all three formats, which allows for consistent coaching

Women’s sport in general is really starting to gather some real momentum around the world

and consistent messaging across the piece. “There will be a lot of the same players in both teams, so we are looking at somebody who can make it clear to a player what they are doing day-on-day, but then also game-ongame and this approach allows us to eliminate that risk of confusing our messages. “In due course, and once we have a Head Coach, we will also be looking to fill other positions such as a Physiotherapist and Strength and Conditioning Coach, so we’ve got a lot of work to do to make sure that we get the right people into the team.” Following the conclusion of the 2018 season, Lancashire Cricket announced that Assistant Coach Mark Chilton would combine his First Team duties with the new role of Performance Director. Chilton’s new position holds the key to providing a consistent approach in identifying home-grown talent, progressing them through the Club’s system including the Academy and preparing players for a successful career as a professional cricketer. Thorley says he will work closely with Chilton, as the Club aims to create an aligned approach across both the male and female pathways under the guidance of Director of Cricket Paul Allott.

“The working relationship between myself, Mark Chilton and Paul Allott will be hugely important to this role going forward,” added Thorley. “I’ve already sat down with Mark for a good while and talked through both of the pathways respectively, for male and female, and we’re excited for what the future holds. “I want to work closely with Mark and Paul to be able to see what great looks like in the men’s game here at Lancashire and look at whether there are things which we can borrow and adapt – the resources here are fantastic and we are lucky to have access to all of them. “We can certainly look to lean on Paul and Mark’s experiences, to see how they can help us. I’m definitely not afraid to go to them and ask, ‘how would you do this?’. They have both been there, seen it and done it and they’ve probably seen things that haven’t worked so well in the past too. “I think that they will both be incredibly useful going forward to look at how you can take a pathway and get it working consistently from the bottom to the top. Getting that structure in place so it is aligned with the elite game, will allow young cricketers in our system to see that there is a pathway here for them – so that they can see themselves becoming a professional cricketer in time.”

Our ambition is to have somebody in place who can work across all three formats, which allows for consistent coaching and consistent messaging across the piece

BALDERSON EAGER TO GRADUATE FROM INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CRICKET TO LANCASHIRE’S FIRST XI — P L AY E R I N T E R V I E W —

The ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was the culmination of George Balderson’s journey at youth international level. The next step, in his own words, is becoming a fully fledged member of the Lancashire First XI. 47

eorge Balderson describes captaining England’s Under 19s during the last year as a huge “honour and privilege”, but the fledgling all-rounder is ready to move on to the next phase of his career with the Red Rose. Balderson skippered his country from last July through to this February, culminating at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa where England won the Plate final effectively crowned as the best of the teams who missed out on qualification for the knockout stages of the competition. Now, though, he is ready to take the next step on his journey as a professional cricketer: Challenging for Lancashire’s first team. Balderson, who bowls right-arm seamers with plenty of variety and bats left-handed - higher up the order against the red ball than he does against the white - describes captaining the side as the biggest and most rewarding challenge of his career so far. “The pressure that comes with captaining your country in a big tournament and playing on TV, I’d never done before. It was a challenge. Getting a group of lads from all around the country to come together and fight towards a common goal is hard. But the games we won were probably the most satisfying I’ve been involved in because of that. It was a massive honour and a privilege.” By beating Sri Lanka in the Plate final in early February, England were able to end on a high following their group stage exit which came on the back of an almighty low. They were beaten by Australia to effectively end their chances of quarter-final qualification when the Aussies had been 206-8 after 45.4 overs chasing 253. They even needed 40 off the last three overs and somehow got over the winning line. Balderson, of course, was crestfallen in the heat of the moment, but perspective was on hand almost immediately. He continued: “The first thing Jon Lewis said to us in the changing room

was, ‘You’ll look back on this moment in future years as a great learning curve. It will potentially help all your games in the future. At this moment, it hurts. But in the future, you can use it positively’.” He claimed seven wickets in five World Cup appearances and scored 68 runs in four innings, and in two years of Lancashire Second XI cricket has scored 570 runs and taken 24 wickets in 24 appearances. He returned to Lancashire duty almost immediately and was in Mumbai for the squad’s week-long training camp within 10 days of returning from South Africa.

“I’ve really enjoyed coming back to Lancashire and working with some of the coaches I haven’t seen for a while,” he continued. “The likes of Glen Chapple and Mark Chilton, I haven’t actually had a lot of contact time with them over the last 18 months. Most of my work has been done with the likes of Jon Lewis and Ian Bell. To be able to build that relationship with coaches at Lancashire is very important now.” With the First XI seam bowling stocks running very deep, Balderson believes his route into Glen Chapple’s side may come in One-Day cricket,

whenever the opportunity presents itself post-coronavirus. “I’ve got to be scoring runs and taking wickets to be able to justify selection because there are a lot of good players in our squad,” he said. “In white ball cricket, I’m realistic to know that my bowling can be more effective with the keeper up to the stumps, using my variations through the middle overs. But in red ball cricket when you look at the amount of seam bowling talent we have here, maybe run-scoring will be my way into that side.”

Spin Magazines sits down with Christina Carr, the Club’s Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach, about her role within the team at Lancashire Cricket Thanks for talking to us, Christina. Give us an overview of your role here at the Club. CC: I started at the end of 2014 as part time coach with the County Age Groups, Emerging Players’ Programme (EPP) and the County Women. This gradually built up before I was made full time in 2018. I am currently leading the Academy and EPP provision, and work alongside Tom Webster [Strength and Conditioning Coach] with the professional squad. How did you get into working in strength and conditioning? CC: I got into it from an early age as I did athletics growing up. It was part and parcel of the training, especially at university; I went to Loughborough, which is renowned for its sporting facilities, and so the strength and conditioning side of things was huge when I went there. During my undergraduate degree, I did a year abroad and as part of the course we were able to visit Parramatta Eels, the rugby league side based in Sydney, Australia. One of our lecturers was their sports scientist, so we got to see professional sports science in action first hand, and it made me realise it was a career I wanted to pursue. After finishing my undergraduate degree I worked as Strength & Conditioning Intern at Leicestershire CCC for 2 years before moving back home to start

at Lancashire. I combined this with starting my Master’s at Salford University and working part time in football at Blackburn, Accrington and, most recently, Blackpool, before turning full time with Lancashire Cricket. Tell us about your role within the different squads at Emirates Old Trafford CC: The EPP players are normally between 13 and 16 and we focus on building good movement patterns and when they’re capable, we start to load things. It is mainly strength work as many of them play other sports and so naturally get conditioning work done through that. In the Academy, we progress what they have already started in the EPP. We see them more often, and one of our aims is to begin bridging the gap between Age Group cricket and professional cricket. We have a couple of players away at private school also, so I keep in touch with them and liaise with their schools to make sure they are getting what they need physically. I assist Tom Webster over the winter with the professional players and spend most of the summer with the Seconds XI. That involves leading warm-ups and helping with other prep, collecting GPS data during match days, looking after their recovery at the end of each day and topping up their strength and conditioning work on training days.

The Second XI is a really varied job, largely because there is often such a wide scope of players involved. You could have a young team mostly made up of our younger or Academy players that has a very different feel to it to when we have more senior First XI players involved, whether that be due to the format they are playing or someone coming back from injury. The general structure of a day with the Second XI is normally busy in the morning before start of play, with warm-ups and any other preparation players need, then we have injured players come to the game to do some rehabilitation either during play or at lunch time on the outfield. Post-game some players will have different supplements and during away games all players do a pool recovery session. How do the strength and conditioning team work together collaboratively? CC: The Sports Science & Medicine department has grown a lot over the last few years and we are a close-knit team. Dave Roberts [Director of Medical Services] is in charge of the department, Sam Byrne [Lead Physiotherapist] and Tom Webster work closely with the first team, while myself and Zach [Spargo, Assistant Physiotherapist] assist with this during the winter. We also now have another Strength &

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Conditioning Coach, Dan, who will work mainly with our County Age Group system. Myself and Zach work closely together at Second XI level during the summer and given the nature of the cricket schedule, we don’t see a lot of Sam and Tom between April and September. During this time, we keep up regular communication on a daily basis to ensure we are all up to speed with various players. There are a lot of WhatsApp conversations going on at any one time! It can be a challenge keeping on top of different players’ training regimes, especially if they are between teams during the season, dealing with injuries and having players at different stages of rehab. We communicate between the medical team in regards to how many overs a player could bowl, or how much of the game they can take part in, and whether they need to do any additional or specialised exercises – a lot of back and forth on phone calls!

How much more emphasis is put on strength and conditioning now compared to when you started? CC: It has changed massively. In terms of strength and conditioning, we did have a bit of provision for the County Age Group system before I started, but it was not

as integrated into the cricket programme as it is now. We now see them on a more consistent basis from under-11 upwards and get them into a mindset that strength and conditioning is part of their programme as a player from a young age. Some of the professionals now were 14 or 15 when I started, so I have worked with a number of them since. The Club have bought into what we are trying to do really well and supported the department growing but the changing nature of the game and its physical demands mean it’s now required. Finally, how much do you enjoy working as part of the medical team at Emirates Old Trafford? CC: It is a great place to work. You can sometimes forget how lucky you are until you look outside onto one of the most historic cricket grounds in the world. We have a great medical team that work very hard and are always trying to improve what we do. My job is so varied and that is a definite advantage, too. I like that I could be working with the EPP one day, followed by a session with the Academy or professionals the next, or even working with different groups on the same day. I also really enjoy seeing our young players move from dreaming of playing professional cricket to fulfilling this.

Luke Sutton

Author of a new book, Back from the Edge, it has been a topsy-turvy ride for Luke Sutton since he hung up the gloves. He spoke to Paul Edwards about his story following retirement from cricket in 2011. he majority of professional sportsmen settle into a quieter life when they retire. The searchlight of publicity is no longer on them and each summer brings only a couple of requests for interviews. The former Lancashire wicketkeeper, Luke Sutton, had to make a similar adjustment when he retired in 2011 but no one could suggest that his last ten years have been lacking in incident.

Since he put away his gauntlets Sutton has faced the biggest crisis of his life and written a successful book about it while all the time building up Activate Management, a company which currently looks after cricketers such as Dom Bess, Sam Northeast and Tom Moores. Inevitably, perhaps, it is the book that has attracted most comment. Since it was published last year Back From The Edge has quite rightly garnered considerable praise for its unsparing account of how an apparently successful cricketer can be tortured by mental health problems and alcohol dependency to the extent that he ends up spending a month in The Priory, an acute psychiatric hospital. Sutton’s description of his descent and his ongoing recovery is one of the most raw and honest sports books ever penned. Moreover, it

has been published in an era in which it is perfectly acceptable for men to admit to mental health problems. “Toughing it out” when you can’t properly explain why your world’s collapsing has been exposed by Sutton and others as a pretty destructive mantra. “The reaction to the book’s been really positive and heart-warming,” Sutton told Spin. “That’s been amazing and I’ve opened people’s eyes for sure. The reaction’s come from players, other people within the game, including directors of cricket and coaches from overseas, and even from people I don’t know at all. They’ve all offered congratulations but coaches and directors of cricket have also got in touch to ask if they can meet up with me and try to understand these things a bit better. That was really encouraging because that’s what I wanted to do with the book.” But Luke’s life is no longer defined by the demons which nearly destroyed him. Among the continuing blessings of his recovery are the opportunity to enjoy a full family life and to develop a business whose clients can tap into Sutton’s own experiences and apply his wisdom as it is needed. Yet Activate’s genesis dates from before Sutton’s five-year career as a Lancashire player.

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“During 2011 I discussed with Jimmy Anderson whether or not to manage him but we didn’t quite get round to it,” he recalled. “Then when I retired, I took on the job of managing him full-time. My business had started in 2005, although we weren’t involved in management then. We began with management in 2012 and then with other sports people like Matt Prior and James Taylor. Now we have about 25 clients on the books but I personally manage eight of them.” Even for a relatively knowledgeable sports fan the words “manager” or “agent” have connotations of tough negotiations for better contracts and leaks to the press to engineer transfers. Fortunately, although not surprisingly, Sutton’s work is very different and he is keen to dispel the simplistic image. “The word ‘manager’ describes my role much better than ‘agent’ does,” he said. “In every profession there are good and bad people and I think ‘agent’ sometimes gets an unnecessarily negative narrative around it. It’s often convenient to blame an agent but sport in general and cricket in particular has changed dramatically in the last 10-15 years. And in all that time the role of the manager has only increased. There are so many things to distract young players that having some stable advice and counsel near them is really important.

“What I do varies from client to client. In some cases I can literally be involved with every aspect of their lives, from arrangements for their families, their houses, advice about their game and things far beyond commercial sponsorship deals. That can be more important for them during the bad times in their careers than in the good when the phone doesn’t stop ringing. “Cricketers are away from home so often they need people to take care of their houses etc. The last thing they want is to be worrying about such things when they are away. My role is to ensure they are supported so that they can go off and play at their best.” One can only speculate as to the support Sutton might have needed during his own career but such musings are still valuable. He admits that to almost all observers he appeared a fit, contented professional whose fitness, both physical and mental, was never questioned. That is why Back From The Edge is such an important book. One of its important subtexts is that one shouldn’t take a sportsperson’s excellent form as a sign he or she is in good health. “The book is part of the cure and part of the healing,” said Sutton. “Almost everyone, except my fiancée, has been shocked by something they have read in it. They’ve all been touched by parts of my life. It just poured out of me. I’d reached a point where I felt comfortable about my own journey and ready to write about it. I also felt it carried a message that might help other people and it was important not to dilute that message.”

Introduction Following on from the first section of the Members’ Survey from the December issue of Spin last year, we’re able to share the results. We continue to believe that the best way to share the results is back through Spin Magazine and mailing of it to all Members, hence why it is being published in this issue, rather than us communicating it on email or through the website.

spend some more time on. The Club will work closely with the Members’ Representative Group on these matters. The Club is committed to ensuring that all areas are continually reviewed, plans put in place to improve where it needs to and make other areas better than they have been, even if they’ve had a good score.

In general the results are positive and continue to show progress, as well as some areas we need to

Member Happiness Currently the overall Membership is generally happy with the Club with over 75% responding happy or very happy in comparison to just over 50% in 2018, which is a marked increase. The percentage of unhappy or very unhappy Members is less than 10% and the Club will dig deeper to find the causes of this to make improvements.

Age-Range The charts continues to show that the vast majority (over 70%) of Members are over 55. With the Club introducing the Blast Membership this season the hope was that we can attract a younger audience to the Membership.

Type of Membership Traditional Membership continues to be popular (40%) however the Club is pleased to see First XI Memberships continue to increase. The majority of our survey responses are from Traditional Members (over 60%) so weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll work to ensure all Membership types engage in the survey going forward. We only had a 10% response to the survey (398/3,994) from the Members so we need to find ways of getting more Members to air their views on the Club. That will enable us to better service your needs.

Format Preference The graph shows that by far the most popular form of cricket is County Championship (88%), with the interest dropping between each shortening format. It will be interesting to see if there is a change in this pattern as we attract a younger Membership audience.

Overall Communication Ratings Overall communication by the Club is well received with over 2/3 of Members scoring highly across all factors. Spin Magazine remains very popular with Members so weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll continue to provide this on a regular basis and regular email communication and content rates well. The website usability scores well, however we continue to make enhancements in this area. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll take any negative observations from Members on-board as we see communication between the Club and Members as vital.

Membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Forums There was a small increase in the percentage attending a Members Forum in 2019, up from 21% to 23% and an increase in the satisfaction of the content of these Forums. We understand that not all Members can attend a Forum due to time constraints, but the Club feel these are a valuable addition where Members can directly voice their questions to the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Directors.

Type of Content This chart really does help us understand the website content that Members want from the Club. Ticket information, statistics and video highlights being considered the most important, with Foundation and match reports being less important. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll use this information to guide our website content going into the new season.

Wicketz: Roses Rivals Unite

The fourth instalment of the Lord’s Taverners Wicketz programme’s Unity of the Roses returned at Leeds Beckett University during February half-term. The event’s aim was to connect 24 young people from across Lancashire and Yorkshire by discussing pressing issues in their local communities. The Wicketz programme led by the Lord’s Taverners and delivered by the Lancashire Cricket Foundation and Yorkshire Cricket Foundation in Manchester, Hull and Bradford gives opportunities for young people living in areas of deprivation to take part in cricket and enjoy physical activity regardless of background, circumstances or ability. Participants took part in a workshop to focus on a stand

out social issue that has had an effect on their lives on the back of their individual hub sessions in the lead up to the day, with cricket competitions taking place between the two roses rivals either side of it. Lancashire Cricket Foundation’s Community Programme Manager Howard Shore added: “Through the weekly coaching sessions over the last 18 months in Manchester, Bradford and Hull,

we’ve each developed a strong relationship with our groups of young people. Using this bond to empower them to share issues which affect them daily, step back and compare this to the rest of the UK, then share their experiences with other Wicketz communities has been very rewarding and demonstrates how we can use the cricketing passion and enthusiasm these young people have to impact their personal development.”

James Anderson Helps Launch Dynamos Cricket, An Exciting New ECB Programme

The ECB took its latest step to inspire the next generation of cricket players and fans with the launch of Dynamos Cricket in late-February. Dynamos will encourage boys and girls aged 8-11 to have fun and fall in love with the game. The programme is designed for children graduating from ECB’s All Stars Cricket programme for 5-8year olds, but is also designed to welcome those who are new to the game. Up to 35,000 kids will take part in Dynamos Cricket in their local centres when the scheme is finally launched, having been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic at the moment. Lancashire and England fast bowler James Anderson, Oval

Invincibles spinner Laura Marsh, Birmingham Phoenix star Pat Brown, England Physical Disability cricketer and parent Liam Thomas were joined by Clare Stokes, the wife of England all-rounder Ben, at a special Dynamos Cricket taster session to launch the new programme earlier this year. In light of the ongoing pandemic, Dynamos Cricket has launched a free app full of skills, quizzes, challenges and more. Visit dynamoscricket.co.uk to find out more or search ‘Dynamos Cricket’ on the App store to download the app.

As part of Spin’s exclusive feature with those behind-the-scenes at Emirates Old Trafford, we caught up with the Club’s Head of Marketing, Christian Mullarkey, about his role. What is your job title? CM: I am currently Head of Marketing across both cricket and venue.

How long have you been at Emirates Old Trafford? CM: I have been here for four years. My previous job was over the road from here at Trafford College, where I started as a marketing intern before progressing to become Marketing Co-ordinator and then taking a job as Cricket Marketing Executive at Lancashire Cricket.

What does your day-to-day role include? CM: The job is so broad ranging. As well as managing the day-to-day activities of the marketing team, my role is more strategic in that I often provide the planning and forwardthinking, in consultation with the marketing executives and others in different areas around the business to work towards the vision of the Club. It is my job to ensure this is delivered on the ground and the marketing team have the appropriate resource in order to meet these expectations. From a cricketing perspective, I am charged with ensuring attendance targets are reached and from a venue

point of view, it is ensuring the revenue targets are met across conference and events, Christmas parties etc.

How closely do you work in collaboration with outside agencies and other stakeholders? CM: As a team, we work very closely with the ECB. We have a combined objective to grow the game and share best practices with them – and other counties – to ensure we can positively affect attendances here. We can also challenge them on certain areas and how they can support us. We work with a number of outside agencies to help us achieve our goals, most notably Two Circles. They provide us with crucial data insights and how we can better improve the experience for Members and supporters, whether that be through a match day experience or personalising content they see through e-mails, for example. They play a key role in Members’ surveys and how we can interpret this to better service our membership through the responses we collect.

As a Club, we are continuing to grow and as such there are an increasing number of creative agencies we work with as the number of projects we work on expands

As a Club, we are continuing to grow and as such there are an increasing number of creative agencies we work with as the number of projects we work on expands. I ensure the agencies we select understand our brand values and align with us.

How much has the marketing side of the business evolved since you started? CM: It has changed a lot in four years. From a conference and events side, the venue has increased so much in stature and therefore the amount of resource has increased with expectation. We want to be not only the best cricket Club in the world, but one of the best venues in the world too, and with that brings a lot of different challenges. The vision we have for the Club is immense; we want people to come here regularly,

enjoy being here and see us as a real hub of the north west. Our profile extends beyond what just happens on the pitch and we want both cricket and non-cricket people to recognise Emirates Old Trafford as an industryleading stadium. On the cricket side, the shift has been huge and I have worked closely on growing this during my time here. We have worked enormously hard to better engage with families and children, as well as increasing matchday attendances and memberships. When I started we had roughly 5,000 in attendance per T20 match, and last year we averaged around 11,000; the number of families was incredible and we were rated the number one ground for matchday experience across all 18 counties. We are continuing to grow the membership base and are consistently selling out international matches, culminating in five sold out days of Ashes cricket last summer and incredible attendances during the ICC Cricket World Cup. It just shows that the vision we created is connecting. People recognise us and we are seeing a lot of kids come here and begin to develop their love for the game. We will continue to do that over the coming years.

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