Lancs coach set to help England in summer Test
GLEN Chapple could play a crucial role in England’s Test series with the West Indies this summer.
The Lancashire boss is thought to be among a number of county coaches being drafted in to work with an expanded squad of players for what will be a unique threematch series.
He is one of 15 coaches who have already been helping the Lancashire players named in the 55-man training squad to prepare for the clash with the West Indies.
It is believed he, among others, will now be asked to join the England coaching staff on a temporary basis in the coming weeks, with the possibility of other specialist consultants, leading up to a pre-series training camp and possible inter-squad warm-up match at the Ageas Bowl.
Chapple has been working with Jimmy Anderson, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Richard Gleeson, Keaton Jennings and Liam Livingstone at Emirates Old Trafford in recent weeks - although since the West Indies arrived last Tuesday and have been in quarantine and training at the ground the Red Rose group have moved to Chester Broughton Hall.
The first Test starts at the Ageas Bowl on July 8, with the second and third Tests both at Emirates Old Trafford.
Anderson, meanwhile, accepts England may need to rotate their seamers this summer with so many matches crammed into the second half of the season.
Having spent several months out of action with a calf injury in 2019, only to break a rib in his second match back against South Africa in January, the country’s record wicket-taker is just the kind of asset England will be eager to protect.
“Obviously there are concerns - we’re not going to have had any competitive cricket before that first Test match and we’ve got three Tests in quick succession,” said 37-year-old Anderson.
“There are obviously things we need to look at in terms of workloads and whether we play all three as bowlers or whether we rotate.
“I’m sure the medical staff and coaches are doing their due diligence on that.
“It’s something we’ll have to look at in a few weeks’ time but at the moment I’m enjoying being back and feeling really good.”
Anderson has been bowling to Jennings in recent days, a welcome step up from his improvised home-based drills.
“Training has been going really well, I managed to tick over quite well during lockdown,” he said.
“Luckily I’ve got enough space to fit half my run-up in on my driveway, so when I came back to training at Lancashire it’s not been going in cold. I felt like I hit the ground running pretty well. I’ve enjoyed being back.”
Meanwhile, Paul Collingwood is set to be put in charge of England’s planned one-day series against Ireland, with head coach Chris Silverwood deciding to take a break during the three ODIs against the Irish.