Chapple gets England call
LANCS COACH TO WORK WITH LIONS SQUAD ON WINDIES TOUR
LANCASHIRE’S Glen Chapple will join the England Lions coaching staff for their upcoming tour of the West Indies in February.
The Lancashire head coach has been named as the fast-bowling coach for the four-week red ball part of the tour.
He will be back at Emirates Old Trafford at the beginning of March for Lancashire’s pre-season programme. In the meantime, his assistant Mark Chilton – who has been in Australia working with Big Bash side the Melbourne Renegades – will return to England to work with the Red Rose players who aren’t playing cricket elsewhere this winter.
M.E.N. Sport revealed last month that Chapple had been approached to apply for the fast-bowling coach’s job with the England senior team ealier in the summer, but decided against it, instead wanting to focus on his first full season in charge at Emirates Old Trafford.
The latest move shows that the ECB are keen to have him involved in the England set-up and see him as one for the future.
“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to go out and work with the Lions for the upcoming tour,” said Chapple.
“It’s an exciting prospect to work with head coach Andy Flower and assisting with the coaching of some of the most talented young cricketers in England.
“I have no doubt that the opportunity of working with the Lions will be a great experience for me personally and likewise with Mark (Chilton) working in the Big Bash this winter too.”
Chapple will be among familiar faces in the West Indies, with six Lancashire players in the squad.
Haseeb Hameed, who is recovering from a broken finger, will only play red ball cricket with Matthew Parkinson playing just white ball cricket, while Keaton Jennings, Liam Livingstone, Alex Davies and Saqib Mahmood are in both squads.
Said Flower: “Jon Lewis’s appointment for the Under-19s World Cup left us in need of a fast bowling coach for the West Indies, and we are delighted that Glen Chapple has agreed to join us.
“Glen has worked on the Pathway before with the Pace Programme, and is now establishing himself as a head coach at Lancashire, who already have a strong playing representation in our squads.
“I’m looking forward to working with him over the next few weeks, and as ever we are grateful to his county employers for giving him the opportunity to work with us.”
While there may be some concerns from supporters that Chapple is away from Old Trafford for a month just eight weeks before the season starts, new Lancashire director of cricket Paul Allott believes it will benefit the club in the long run.
He said: “We are delighted that Glen has been given this opportunity with the Lions to further develop his coaching experience throughout the winter.
“We fully encourage all of our coaching staff to work in different environments and increase their knowledge and experience so that they can improve and bring back new ideas to Lancashire.”