Dale Benkenstein leaves as head coach of Lancashire with Steven Croft taking over the reins for the season.
Dale Benkenstein is the latest casualty of Lancashire’s disastrous start to this season’s County Championship.
His departure as head coach was confirmed by the club through mutual consent.
With Lancashire sitting just one point above bottom-place Kent in the Championship’s second tier and having failed to win in seven attempts this season, former captain Steven Croft has stepped in as acting captain.
In December 2023, Benkenstein, 50, was named head coach after Glenn Chapple resigned after seven years in the position. But he was in charge of the team’s relegation from the top tier last summer, and he hasn’t been able to oversee a turnaround in their results in the first block of first-class games this season.
The team’s nadir came last week at Grace Road with an innings-and-three-run loss to Leicestershire, this season’s unusual pacesetters at the top of Division Two, despite a brief boost from James Anderson’s return and a strong performance in a drawn match against Derbyshire.
The three-day loss to Northamptonshire earlier in the month, which resulted in Keaton Jennings resigning as the team’s red-ball captain, was Lancashire’s second heartbreaking loss of the season.
Lancashire has now chosen to start over as the team’s focus shifts from the Championship to their T20 Blast campaign, which kicks off against Worcestershire at Old Trafford on Thursday.
“Following a difficult start to the season, we feel that now is the right time to make a change, as we look to improve our on-field performances,” Chilton said.
“After relegation at the end of last season, results have not improved so far this year and after much consideration, both Dale and I feel the team will benefit from a change in direction.
“We would like to thank Dale for his hard work and commitment during his time at the Club. He leaves Lancashire Cricket with our best wishes for the future.”