Cross named chairman of Foundation
ANDREW Flintoff is back at Lancashire after joining the Emirates Old Trafford board.
He fills the place left by Paul Allott, who yesterday was named the club’s new director of cricket.
And in what is a huge shake-up, the Lancashire Cricket Board (LCB) and LCCC Foundation will merge to form the Lancashire Cricket Foundation, which the Red Rose describe as ‘a separate entity to the club, with an overall aim to deliver some extremely exciting growth in both participation and attendance across the game throughout the region in the coming years’.
Former second team player Bobby Cross – brother of England bowler Kate – has been appointed chairman of the new Lancashire Cricket Foundation, which will focus on participation and growth of recreational cricket in the county.
Allott, who played for the club in the 1980s and 90s and has been a non-executive member of Lancashire’s board, will be responsible for overall talent identification for the professional side of the game and development of players through the Elite Player Pathway (EPP), as well as the growth of participation and recreational cricket.
Lancashire age group teams, which were overseen by the LCB, will now be under the wing of the club’s Academy, while the club will maintain close links with the Lancashire Schools Cricket Association (LSCA) and Under-19 Federation.
James Sheridan, who has been chairman of the LCCC Foundation since it started, is also joining the club’s board.
But it’s the appointment of Ashes winning hero and former England captain Flintoff, who made his Lancashire debut in 1995, which has come as a surprise.
He said: “I’m hugely honoured to have been asked to join the board and even more delighted to accept.
“I have talked to the chairman about the future and what the club and the new Lancashire Cricket Foundation wish to achieve, and it is a hugely exciting time for the game of cricket in Lancashire, and one that I am proud to be part of and contribute to.”
The position of cricket director was first held by Mike Watkinson, but has been vacant since Ashley Giles left the club in December to rejoin Warwickshire.
Allott said: “It’s a huge honour to be appointed to the role of director of cricket. It is a fantastic time for cricket as a whole, and especially in Lancashire.
“It will be an all-encompassing job, working on the growth and participation of the game at the grass-roots level through to ensuring the EPP is appropriately structured to develop and identify the future generation of both Lancashire and England players.
“We have a strong history in developing top-level cricketers and this is matched by a strong legacy of club cricket and we’re all looking forward to developing this over the coming years.”
Having gone through years of redevelopment of Emirates Old Trafford, chairman David Hodgkiss says the restructuring is the next step. He said: “Our vision is to be the best cricket club in the world. We want to inspire and provide the best possible experiences to people on and off the pitch.
“We’ve created a strong sustainable foundation for the club following the redevelopment of the venue.
“The next steps are to ensure we have the right structure to grow the game, enhance our legacy and build an even better future for cricket.”