Tough trip first up for Chapple’s men

LANCASHIRE have been handed a tricky start to the new County Championship season, with new captain Glenn Chapple and his men travelling to face Sussex in a match which gets under way on Tuesday, April 21.

Nottinghamshire are the first visitors to Old Trafford in the new LVCC division one season on Wednesday, April 29, but fans will have to wait until Friday, July 31, for the start of the first four-day Roses clash of the year against Yorkshire, which is also at home.
Other Championship highlights include a testing fixture against title holders Durham which starts at Chester-le-Street on Thursday, June 11, with newly-promoted Warwickshire arriving at Old Trafford for what could be a crucial last match of the season beginning on Wednesday, September 23.

Lancashire are to spend a week in March preparing for the 2009 season with a day-night tournament in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, followed by a three-day away game against Durham University arriving as a prelude to the competitive year on Saturday, April 11.

The first fixture in the revamped Friends Provident Trophy has Glamorgan Dragons visit Old Trafford on Sunday, April 19. Lancashire Lightning’s five-team group also contains holders Essex Eagles — who travel north for a game on Wednesday, May 20 — as well as Northants Steelbacks and Derbyshire Phantoms. The two top teams qualify for the quarter-finals.

The Twenty20 Cup is this year split into two halves, either side of the Twenty20 World Cup taking place in England in June. Yorkshire Carnegie are the first visitors to Old Trafford in that competition on Tuesday, May 26, with finals day being held on Saturday, August 15, at Edgbaston.




Fixtures 2009 —



FPT = Friends Provident Trophy

LVCC 1 = LV County Championship division one

T20 = Twenty20 Cup

Pro40 2: NatWest Pro40 League division two






APRIL 11: Durham UCCE v Lancashire (Durham University); 19: FPT, Lancashire v Glamorgan (Old Trafford); 21-24: LVCC 1, Sussex v Lancashire (Hove); 26: FPT, Northamptonshire v Lancashire (Northampton); 29-May 2: LVCC 1, Lancashire v Nottinghamshire (Old Trafford)

MAY 3: FPT, Lancashire v Derbyshire (Old Trafford); 6-9: LVCC 1, Worcestershire v Lancashire (New Road);10: FPT, Essex v Lancashire (Chelmsford); 12: FPT, Lancashire v Northamptonshire (Old Trafford);13: FPT, Derbyshire v Lancashire (Derby); 15: FPT, Glamorgan v Lancashire (The SWALEC Stadium); 20: FPT, Lancashire v Essex (Old Trafford); 26: T20, Lancashire v Yorkshire (Old Trafford); 28: T20, Lancashire v Nottinghamshire (Old Trafford); 29: T20, Yorkshire v Lancashire (Headingley Carnegie); 31: T20, Leicestershire v Lancashire (Grace Road).

JUNE 2: T20, Lancashire v Derbyshire (Old Trafford); 4: T20, Lancashire v Durham (Old Trafford); 6-9: LVCC 1, Lancashire v Somerset (Old Trafford); 11-14: LVCC 1, Durham v Lancashire (Riverside); 17-20: LVCC 1, Lancashire v Hampshire (Liverpool); 22: T20, Lancashire v Leicestershire (Liverpool); 25: T20, Derbyshire v Lancashire (Derby); 26: T20, Durham v Lancashire (Riverside); 28: T20, Nottinghamshire v Lancashire (Trent Bridge); 30-July 3: LVCC 1, Nottinghamshire v Lancashire (Trent Bridge).

JULY 10-13: LVCC 1, Lancashire v Worcestershire (Old Trafford); 15-18: LVCC 1, Warwickshire v Lancashire (Edgbaston); 19: Pro40 2, Lancashire v Derbyshire (Old Trafford); 22: Pro40 2, Lancashire v Surrey (Old Trafford); 31-August 3: LVCC 1, Lancashire v Yorkshire (Old Trafford).

AUGUST 4: Pro40 2, Northamptonshire v Lancashire (Northampton); 6-9: LVCC 1, Hampshire v Lancashire (The Rose Bowl); 11-14: LVCC 1, Lancashire v Durham (Old Trafford); 19-22: LVCC 1, Yorkshire v Lancashire (Headingley Carnegie); 23: Pro40 2, Leicestershire v Lancashire (Grace Road); 26: Pro40 2, Middlesex v Lancashire (Lord’s)

SEPTEMBER 2-5: LVCC 1, Lancashire v Sussex (Old Trafford); 6: Pro40 2, Lancashire v Kent (Old Trafford); 9-12: LVCC 1, Somerset v Lancashire (Taunton); 14: Pro40 2, Glamorgan v Lancashire (The SWALEC Stadium); 23-26: LVCC 1, Lancashire v Warwickshire (Old Trafford); 27: Pro40 2, Lancashire v Warwickshire (Old Trafford).