Glen Chapple will leave Lancashire this week after
serving as the club’s head coach for an uninterrupted 31 years after the
conclusion of their current match against Kent.
Previously serving as Ashley Giles’ first-team coach
for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, as well as interim head coach in 2014 after
Peter Moores left to take the England position, Chapple, 49, has spent the last
seven seasons in his current position.
Prior to that, Chapple had been a player-coach in the
final years of a record-breaking playing career, during which he made 664
appearances across all formats for Lancashire and took 1373 wickets. In 2011,
Chapple also led the team to its first County Championship triumph in 77 years.
Chapple debuted in first-class cricket in 1992 and in
List A the following year. He also played a significant role in the outstanding
Lancashire squad that won nine one-day championships between 1989 and 1999.
At Lord’s in the NatWest Trophy final in 1996, he had
his best performance during that stage of his career, returning figures of 6
for 18 to dismiss Essex for 57. He eventually played one ODI against Ireland in
2006 at the age of 32 after being curiously passed over by England while he was
in the prime of his career.
Chapple served as Lancashire’s head coach and guided
the team to three second-place results in Division One of the County
Championship as well as three trips to the T20 Finals Day. The closest they
came to winning the championship was Hampshire’s stunning one-run victory over
them previous season. Among the internal contenders for the position of his
replacement are Carl Crowe and Graham Onions.
Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s director of cricket
performance, said: “Glen has been an incredible servant to Lancashire
Cricket over the past 30 years – as a player, captain and most recently as head
coach – and on behalf of the club, I’d like to thank him for everything he’s
achieved.
“He will go down as a legend of the club from
what he achieved during his playing career and has overseen a sustained period
of success over the last seven years as head coach.
“Glen’s shown a relentless commitment and passion
to the Red Rose during his time as head coach and we wish him every success in
the next steps of his career.”