Lancashire sack Mark Chilton, David Thorley after underperformance of men’s and women’s teams

Lancashire’s director of cricket performance and director of women’s cricket have both lost their jobs after a miserable season for the club, which could culminate in the men’s team winning their first-ever wooden spoon this week.

Lancashire’s senior leadership have been under fire from outspoken members all year, who believe that they have prioritised commercial performance above all else to the detriment of the club’s on-field performance. Those views have been supported by a dreadful season on the field, which has now cost both Mark Chilton and David Thorley their respective roles.

Having won two trophies last season, Lancashire’s women finished bottom of the T20 Blast group stage and missed out on the knockout stages in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, but it is the men’s team that has performed particularly poorly.

After a brief revival last year following the sacking of Dale Benkenstein as head coach, Steven Croft’s side sit second-bottom in Division Two of the County Championship and could yet win the wooden spoon for coming bottom for the first time if they lose to Durham this week. They also failed to qualify for the T20 Blast quarter-finals and were thrashed in the One-Day Cup eliminator round.

The club said in a statement on Monday that both Chilton and Thorley would leave the club “as part of a restructuring of the performance set-up”. It will be a winter of significant change at Emirates Old Trafford: the club’s long-serving chief executive Daniel Gidney is also leaving, with boyhood Lancashire fan Richard Kenyon joining from Nottinghamshire as his successor.

Chilton’s departure will end his long-standing association with Lancashire, at least for the time being. He captained the club from 2005-07 and won the Championship in 2011, his final season as a player, before returning three years later in a coaching capacity. He was appointed director of cricket performance in 2021 but results have declined sharply in the years since.

Thorley, meanwhile, has been in charge of Lancashire’s women for the past six years, initially as the North-West Thunder in the ECB’s regional set-up. His previous experience includes roles with the ICC and at England Boxing.

“Decisions like this are always incredibly tough to make, but we believe a restructure of the performance set-up is necessary to move the club forward,” Gidney said in a statement.

“We all share the ambition of seeing our Lancashire teams win games, progress in competitions and compete for trophies. For the men’s side, the County Championship is at the heart of the club’s cricket vision, while for Lancashire Women, our aim is to consistently challenge for major honours.

“I would like to express my thanks to Mark for his long association with the Red Rose and to David for leading the women’s side through such a transformational period. Their contribution and commitment to Lancashire Cricket over the years is very much appreciated, and we wish them both well for the future.”

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