With the current County Championship nearing it's end, with two rounds remaining; Lancashire are battling relegation. It doesn't look good for their 2025 Division 1 prospects. With the possible chance of going down to Division 2; let's go back to 2011 when they won a long awaited County Championship title in 2011.
In 1934, Fred Perry won Wimbledon; the first Flash Gordon comic strip was published; Stanley Matthews, a footballer; made his England debut.
Lancashire won the County Championship after 77 years, amid drama that would make Hollywood envious. They struggled financially and played without a home ground. On the field early in the season, questions were asked about whether they were the, "the worst Lancashire team ever."
They were unbeaten in their first six games and lost only four of the 16 they played in the season. However, the title was yet to be decided when they went into the final session of the season needing 211 to beat Somerset. Lancashire's top order knocked off the runs, scoring more than seven an over, buoyed by the news of title rivals Warwickshire failing to beat Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Openers, Paul Horton and Stephen Moore, crossed 1000 runs for the season, while Gary Keedy and Glen Chapple took over 50 wickets each.
The early wickets were taken by Lancashire's Lazarus, Glen Chapple. As this match progressed Chapple looked ever more like a Somerset farmer, ruddy of complexion, bow-legged and prepared to work from dawn to dusk to get the harvest in. He doesn't sound like one, however.
Chapple's hamstring may have been in tatters but he grabbed the ball from the start and willed himself up to the wicket. Soon he trapped the nightwatchman, Steve Kirby, on the crease and he knew too much for the novice, Craig Meschede. For the second time in the match the youngster could not evade a well-directed short ball.
Mike Watkinson, Lancashire's cricket director, was all admiration for his captain and the club's physio – "He might have to have a big rise for getting Chapple out on to the field in this match. Either that or [Chapple's] pain levels need looking at."
Somerset, who had lost the Championship in 2010 partly due to Lancashire's inability to resist Nottinghamshire in the last game of the season, did their best to thwart the visitors in the field. There was no real spark in the home side's out-cricket or their thinking. So, Lancashire romped to the title with 4.5 overs to spare and the superlatives flowed.
Watkinson, who played in a team that contained only international cricketers – with the exception of Gary Yates – said: "[Our lads] deserve everything they've got. They are rewarded for all those winter nets and all the running up at Rivington [Pike, near Horwich]."
The coach, Peter Moores, was "very proud of the lads. Young Lancastrians have delivered under pressure."
Chapple declared that Moores was "the best coach he had ever worked with". As for Keedy, it was "an unbelievable day. I've been waiting years for this". Many stalwarts, who had trekked down the M6 and M5, had waited much, much longer.
Lancashire did tie for the County Championship with Surrey in 1950 but this was their first outright title win in 77 years. It was a third County Championship triumph for their coach ,Peter Moores, who had twice pipped Lancashire before with Sussex, in 2003 and 2006.
The biggest irony of Lancashire winning the title that year of all years was that it came in a season when they didn't play a single match at Old Trafford - where the title was so dramatically won by Nottinghamshire in the final moments last September.
Due to the work on their famous old ground, apart from playing at the other 'out' grounds, Blackpool and Southport, they switched their other six matches to Aigburth.
After years of having notoriously bad luck with the weather, fate played it's part in deciding that the outcome of the Liverpool Victoria Championship would be that, with Liverpool as their base, Lancashire were victorious.
"We put in the hard yards last winter and it's turned into a great season with a real team effort from 1 to 11. "Apparently, Michael Carberry dropped Shiv Chanderpaul, who went on to make a century and we were cursing him. But he more than made up for it."
"When we heard the result come through from The Rose Bowl, our supporters let us know. And, from then on, it was just a case of keeping a cool head," Steven Croft said.
Peter Moores said, "It's been a special year as we had so many tight games. "The lads committed to every day and threw their heart and soul into it."
Lancashire went into the final round of matches in second place, three points behind Warwickshire but secured the win they needed as their rivals faltered.
Moores, who coached Sussex to the title in 2003 before moving to the National Academy in 2005 and then getting the England job in 2007, had built a real team spirit in his three seasons with Lancashire. "Different people stepped up when they needed to step up," Moores told BBC Radio Manchester. "It was a mixture of senior players setting an example and doing it when it really counts, to young players coming in and doing more than you could expect that early in their career."
"Putting a red rose on is special. It's about spirit, it's about belief, it's about skill, it's about hard work and it's fantastic."
Lancashire's Yorkshire-born captain, Glen Chapple, told BBC Radio 5 live: "We've always tried to say that the 77-year wait isn't an issue and obviously, it has been. But these players have shown immense character and played quality cricket and I'm delighted for them all.
"For us and the supporters, it's that bit extra special because of the time it's taken to win. We've had great support from the fans. Lots came down to Taunton and we've had a good atmosphere this week.
"It's been a long season full of tense games but we set out at the start of the season to do something most people didn't think we had a chance of doing.
"Today was amazing. The players were full of belief and it was tough to overcome a good team on a flat pitch but we've won something many teams have failed to do.
"I can't say how good it feels, we're going to enjoy it in the knowledge that we've achieved something brilliant."
Lancashire chief executive, Jim Cumbes, added: "It is fantastic for such a young team as they've worked so hard and I am absolutely delighted for them.
"Winning the Championship has been a bit of a noose around Lancashire's neck for a long time and now to put it to bed is really amazing. It is simply unbelievable."
The pennant will now be hung somewhere at Old Trafford for the first time having been introduced in 1951, the year after Lancashire shared the title with Surrey. Since their last outright win, as some in Yorkshire have pointed out, the Old Trafford pavilion has been bombed by the Luftwaffe.
Generations of fine Lancastrian cricketers, from Roy Tattersall to David Hughes, Jack Bond to Andrew Flintoff, have played their whole careers without winning a championship. Imports such as: Ken Grieves; Farokh Engineer; Clive Lloyd; Wasim Akram and Muttiah Muralitharan helped to secure plenty of Lord's finals and one-day trophies but never the prize most coveted by all county cricketers – and especially, increasingly, those from Lancashire. Even the great Brian Statham was thwarted as the county never again came as close as they had in 1950, his debut season.
There is an argument that the pennant should be taken on the road next summer as it is more than a coincidence that Lancashire's long‑awaited title should come in the year Old Trafford was unavailable for first-class cricket because of redevelopment. They have won four of their six matches at Aigburth – two of them thrillingly on the last evening, against Yorkshire in May and Hampshire, when if the 21-year‑old Kerrigan had not taken his ninth wicket with exactly four minutes remaining, they would effectively have been out of the race. Worcestershire were beaten in another cracker at Blackpool and although Nottinghamshire won the first Championship match at Southport since 1999, the return to Trafalgar Road was a grand occasion nonetheless.
It will be the sight of that pennant flying from Old Trafford's paddle-steamer pavilion that confirmed to the thousands of long‑suffering fans that there need be no more talk of the elusive championship, of one‑day wizards and championship chumps, of choking, or underachieving.
Watkinson, who will entered his 30th year of unbroken association with the county the following summer, travelled down to Taunton on the Wednesday evening. He was not over-confident, not after being directly involved in five second-place finishes in the past 13 years but he was there just in case. "I've just had a quiet day today, just sat up there and soaked it up," he said. "I always used to say when people asked me why we hadn't won the championship for so long that it was unfair to burden the current players with the past. 'Go and ask Brian Statham, or give Cyril Washbrook a ring.' Now these lads have done it, probably earlier than anyone would have expected. And no one will ask them that question next spring."
Following the euphoria of their Championship success in 2011, Lancashire suffered the shock of relegation the following season, becoming the third side, after Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, to drop out of the top flight the year after winning the title since the introduction of two divisions in 2000. However, Glen Chapple’s side put that disappointment behind them to clinch the Division 2 title in 2013 and bounce straight back up.
Unfortunately, top flight status only lasted one season, with a second relegation in three years sending the Red Rose back down in their 150th anniversary season. A narrow defeat in the 2014 NatWest T20 Blast final was one of the few bright spots in a very mixed and disappointing season.
The seasons of 2011 and 2012 were like chalk and cheese as relegation to the second tier hit the county.
Swap the early winning streak of 2011 for a losing streak the following season and the season could not be rescued as some sketchy form and poor weather combined to consign the county to their first campaign in Division 2 since 2005.
No player took 50 Championship wickets and only overseas batsman, Ashwell Prince, topped 1 000 runs as the Red Rose won one match, lost five and drew ten. The end of the season also saw stalwart, Gary Keedy end his 18-year stay at Old Trafford by moving to Surrey in search of more first-team cricket following Simon Kerrigan’s emergence as the number one spinner.
Kerrigan’s performances – he took a county high 44 wickets at 34.81 – were a major positive from the season, as were Steven Croft’s performances in all forms of the game, particularly in one-day cricket.
Croft’s 513 runs in the Clydesdale Bank 40 helped the Lightning reach the semi-finals of that competition, while his 313 in Twenty20 earned him a place in England’s provisional 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 later in the year. He didn't make the final cut of 15 but ended the year playing domestic cricket in New Zealand as the overseas player for the Northern Knights.
Croft’s performances were often explosive, a word that perfectly describes Tom Smith’s record-breaking century in a washed out 40-over match against Worcestershire in late August. Smith smashed 106 off 46 balls, bringing up his hundred off 44 and placing his his ton equal-fifth fastest in List A matches in the world and equal third in domestic cricket.
After relegation in the County Championship in 2012, Lancashire made light work of returning to the top flight in 2013 as they only lost one match on the way to the Division Two title – the final match of the season against Kent at Canterbury when the hosts chased down 400 plus to win late on the final day.
The year started with the Red Rose club announcing a landmark sponsorship deal with Fly Emirates, the Dubai based Airline, for the naming rights of Old Trafford and the shirt sponsorship in Twenty20.
The main part of the deal, worth up to £10m over ten years, would see Old Trafford become Emirates Old Trafford ahead of the return of Ashes cricket to the North West in August. The fourth Test of the series ended up being drawn as England retained the Ashes, going on to claim a 3-0 series win.
Lancashire’s performances on the field were impressive in the Championship and encouraging in limited overs cricket. Although they missed out on qualification for semi-finals of the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition, they reached the quarter-finals in Twenty20, only to be knocked out by 1 run in a thriller by a strong Hampshire side.
The Red Rose’s Championship success was built upon senior batsmen, Simon Katich, the club’s overseas player and Ashwell Prince both topping 1,000 runs for the season and three men in captain Glen Chapple, fellow opening bowler Kyle Hogg and left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan all topping 50 wickets.
There were a number of exhilarating wins, including back-to-back come from behind wins early in the season against Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay and Essex at Emirates Old Trafford to kick start the title push.
Chapple’s men also pegged back early pacesetters, Northamptonshire with twin successes mid-season but the win that took all the headlines came against Essex at Chelmsford in June when the hosts were bowled out for just 20 in their second innings as Lancashire won by an innings and 105 runs. Chapple took 5-9 and Hogg 4-11, and no side has ever been bowled out for fewer runs by Lancashire in first-class cricket. The following week, Northhamptonshire were bowled out for 62 in the first innings of the match at Emirates Old Trafford.
There were a number of individual highlights for Lancashire players in 2013. Opening batsman, Luis Reece, shone in his debut season in four-day cricket to win the club’s young player of the year award, while Kerrigan made his Test debut for England in the final Ashes Test of the summer at the Oval. It was not the debut he would have hoped for, going for 53 runs in eight overs. In debuting for England, Kerrigan became the first product of Lancashire’s Academy to graduate through to the Test match arena.
Lancashire’s cricketers endured a largely frustrating 2014 which ended in the disappointment of LV= County Championship relegation, despite taking their bid to avoid the drop to an pulsating finale against Middlesex at Emirates Old Trafford. They won three times in the Championship, including twice against bottom side Northamptonshire and once against defending champions, Durham, in one of the most thrilling finishes in recent memory.
The high point of the summer for Glen Chapple’s side proved to be a string of superb performances in the NatWest T20 Blast, with the Lightning only falling at the final hurdle. They were only a six away from beating the Birmingham Bears on their home patch at Edgbaston. The T20 competition also saw the surprise return of Andrew Flintoff to first team action, five years after he had retired from cricket. ‘Freddie’ took a wicket with his first ball in the Final, and hit two late-order sixes to take Lightning close to victory.
The departure of coach Peter Moores to England in May after two games was an obvious inconvenience, as was the August retirement of club stalwart Kyle Hogg due to a back injury. However, the main issue came in the batting department as the Red Rose only passed 300 in their first innings five times in the Championship and were largely chasing games as a result.
Ashwell Prince was the only batsman who topped 1,000 runs, a haul which included a career best 257* in the home win against Northamptonshire.
There were obvious signs of encouragement. Karl Brown was exceptional in all limited overs cricket. He scored 373 runs from seven one-day outings, including a superb century against Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford and 467 from 15 T20s, including four fifties.
Paul Horton’s combined form across all formats deserves credit, in particular his captaincy in T20 and his runs – 275 from 15 matches, his best campaign to date in that competition, while new signing Jos Buttler’s graduation through to Test cricket should also not be forgotten.
However, the Red Rose side’s standout performer of the summer was undoubtedly all-rounder, Tom Smith, who finished with 773 runs and took 54 four-day wickets to mark the best season of his career. He deservedly earned his England Lions call-up for a one-day triangular series also involving the A sides of New Zealand and Sri Lanka in early August.
I find it ironic that the county got relegated the season after winning the title. I suppose the good thing is that the wait was over. There were a few close calls but they finally reached the summit outright nerly eight decades later. Kudos to the team from Old Trafford.