Red Rose want to be one-day kings again says Parry
STEPHEN Parry says Lancashire need to find consistency in limited overs cricket and ensure they are not just one-season wonders.
The Red Rose endured a forgettable year in white ball cricket in 2016 after tasting success with their first ever NatWest T20 Blast title the previous summer.
They failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of both the Blast and the Royal London one-day Cup.
They are a regular feature in the 20-over knockout stages and have reached Finals Day six times.
However, disappointment in 50-over cricket is more of a trend. They last reached a List A final in 2006, losing a low-scoring clash with Sussex at Lord’s.
Their new coaching team of Glen Chapple and his assistant Mark Chilton both played in that final. Since then, they have struggled to threaten.
“One thing about us at Lancashire, we don’t seem to back success up,” said left-arm spinner Parry.
“We do well one year in a competition and then not the next.
“I’d like to see us keep building on it and be in and around the right end of competitions. You’re going to get beat sometimes, that’s sport. But I just think we’ve got to be more consistent on a yearly basis to be a top club.
“This year, things seem to be a lot clearer, and there is a real desire to do well in all one-day cricket, even the 50-over competition. We’ve underachieved in that for a long time.
“Speaking to Chappie, he wants to sort it out. We need a better plan in 50-over cricket.”
The Lancashire squad have just returned from their pre-season tour of Dubai, where they shared the Emirates Airline T20 tournament with the MCC, beating Birmingham Bears and Pakistan Super League outfit Lahore before rain ruined the final. It has been a busy old winter for Parry, who has spent time coaching and captaining the Sale Cricket Club in Melbourne, Australia. He said: “It was a bit like Chappie’s job but on a much smaller scale! After my career, I’m looking to go into coaching, so it was a really good experience in that sense.”
There is a real desire to do well in all one-day cricket, even the 50-over competition Stephen Parry