County Championship preview: Lancashire

2009 in a nutshell For Peter Moores to guide Lancashire to fourth place in the championship was an over-achievement for a county that might have struggled under different leadership. As ever with Lancashire, there was a sense that the cricket team was overshadowed by the commercial necessity for a tired, old ground to reinvent itself. LV County Championship Division 1 4th Pro 40 Division 2 5th Friends Provident Trophy SF Twenty20 Cup QF What they'll be playing in this season LV County Championship Division 1 Clydesdale Bank Pro 40 Group A Friends Provident Twenty20 – North Captain Glen Chapple. Fresh faced he might be, but Chapple is 36 now and there may be times when he looks around Old Trafford this summer and needs help. He is a Lancashire stalwart, but he will do well to extend his captaincy beyond this season. Head coach Peter Moores. Old Trafford was a happy retreat for Moores last season after his sacking by England. His insistent, questioning style of coaching might have not been the taste of Kevin Pietersen but it enlivened Lancashire. Ins and outs In Stephen Moore (Worcestershire), Daren Powell, Ashwell Prince, Kumar Sangakkara, Luke Procter, Gary Montgomery Out Mal Loye (Northamptonshire), Steven Mullaney (Nottinghamshire) Overseas players Ashwell Prince (SA) for first half of season, supposedly Kumar Sangakkara (SL) thereafter, but a potential Sri Lanka tour of India has left plans in confusion. Daren Powell (WI) has arrived as a Kolpak, but Francois Du Plessis (SA) has been blocked by toughened immigration criteria. Moores wants stability, but has nothing of the sort. Key player If you thought you had seen the last of English-qualified South Africans, think again. Stephen Moore, an England Lions opening batsman, conscientious rather than thrilling, has the chance to attract a higher profile after leaving Worcestershire for Old Trafford. Ashes factor Andrew Flintoff has retired from Test cricket. To play one-day cricket again for England after his chronic knee trouble would be a minor miracle. If he plays again for Lancashire, cricket can count itself fortunate. He. Will. Not. Be. In. The. Ashes. OK? Prediction for 2010 Ninth in Division 1. Lancashire's £32m ground development has been approved by Trafford Council and the Point, an unashamedly modern conference facility, will open by midsummer. Commercially, the season is already a success. On the cricketing front, though, Peter Moores faces a tough second season and they are a shadow of the successful one-day side of the late 1990s.