Lancashire will play in Group 3 of the 2021 County Championship – here’s their team preview and fixtures list.

County Championship 2021: Lancashire preview

Captain

Dane Vilas

Last year

3/6 North Group

Player movements

In: Jack Blatherwick (Notts), Luke Wells (Sussex)

Out: Brooke Guest (Derbyshire), Toby Lester, Stephen Parry (both released), Graham Onions (retired)

Key player

Dane Vilas – Lancashire moved quickly to retain the services of their captain, keeper and most reliable batsman, and he will now play as an overseas following the termination of Kolpak deals. The 35-year-old has averaged 46 since joining the county in 2017, all the more impressive when you consider the struggles several of his batting colleagues have experienced in that time.

Bolter

Jack Morley – the England under-19 left-arm spinner showed superb control on his first-class debut last summer, returning match figures of 40-15-75-5 at Liverpool against Derbyshire. Alongside the leggie Matt Parkinson and Tom Hartley, a tall southpaw twirler who also debuted last year, Lancashire are well stocked in the spin department. The question is how much action they’ll see when the first-choice pace attack returns.

County Championship 2021: Lancashire Fixtures

Lancashire v Sussex, Thursday April 8, Manchester

Lancashire v Northamptonshire, Thursday April 15, Manchester

Kent v Lancashire, Thursday April 22, Canterbury

Sussex v Lancashire, Thursday April 29, Hove

Lancashire v Glamorgan, Thursday May 6, Manchester

Northamptonshire v Lancashire, Thursday May 20, Northampton

Lancashire v Yorkshire, Thursday May 27, Manchester

Glamorgan v Lancashire, Thursday June 3, Cardiff

Lancashire v Kent, Thursday June 3, Manchester

Yorkshire v Lancashire, Sunday July 4, Scarborough

You can check the full list of County Championship fixtures here.

Wisden says

The conveyor belt of talent at Old Trafford is in rude health, with six players handed first class debuts last summer and an inexperienced side holding its own. In Saqib Mahmood, Richard Gleeson and Toby Bailey they have a formidable pace attack, even in the absence of the retired Graham Onions, who now coaches the bowlers, but runs were an issue last season, with nobody reaching three figures and Keaton Jennings struggling for a second year in succession. Luke Wells, who lost his way at Sussex, has arrived in an attempt to rectify the situation.

Prediction

2nd in Division 2

This preview first appeared in issue 42 of Wisden Cricket Monthly.