Lancashire have appointed their former captain and coach Glen Chapple as Ashley Giles’s replacement as coach. The seam bowler made his debut for the club as an 18 year old and has remained with the county as a player or coach for nearly 25 years. Mark Chilton, another former player, has been appointed the assistant head coach and both have signed three-year deals.
Chapple took 1,373 wickets in 664 appearances for Lancashire and led the side to the County Championship title for the first time in 77 years in 2011. He was named player/coach in 2014 after the departure of Peter Moores and made first-team coach in 2014 under Giles.
After Giles’s departure to Warwickshire, Chapple had assumed the role of coach on an interim basis.
Chilton made 433 appearance for Lancashire and scored over 14,000 runs for the county in all formats. The 40-year-old coached the Lancashire second XI side for the past two years as the club won the Second XI Trophy, beating Somerset in the final at Old Trafford last year.
“Collectively, Mark and I are committed to delivering a team that the whole club, the members, the supporters and the county of Lancashire can be proud of,” Chapple said. “We have an incredibly talented and young group of players at Old Trafford, and we are hugely excited about the coming season and few years ahead, and what we believe we can achieve.”
The Lancashire chairman, Michael Cairns, said: “It is very rewarding to recognise and develop from within, and create a model of aspiration for the wider club, especially for the younger players coming through into the first team.
“Their love and pride in the club is matched by their accomplishments and achievements as players, captains and coaches. We are confident in Glen’s vision to make this team a consistent winner and we will all continue to work together to achieve our ultimate goal – bringing success to this great club and county.”
