Latest news with #DaleBenkenstein
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
T20 Blast begins with wins for Lancs and Sussex
This year's T20 Blast got under way with opening night victories for troubled Lancashire Lightning and last season's semi-finalists Sussex Sharks. A day after the departure of head coach Dale Benkenstein after a bad start to the season, Lancashire secured a tense seven-run victory over Worcestershire Rapids at Emirates Old Trafford. Captain Keaton Jennings led from the front in their North Group encounter as his side posted 176-8 with no Worcestershire batter going past 39 as they only made 169-7. In the South Group, Sussex began with a 16-run win at Lord's over Middlesex aided by a fine 77 not out from James Coles in their 202-4. Despite 51 from Ben Geddes and some lusty hitting from Ryan Higgins, the home side never looked in contention as they ended on 186-7. It has been a dreadful start to the season in the County Championship for Lancashire, who named former T20-winning captain Steven Croft as interim head coach, with no wins from their seven games. Jennings had already resigned as red-ball captain and the club apologised to its members before Benkenstein's exit. Back in charge for the T20 Blast, Jennings brought up his 50 off 30 balls and put on 79 for the first wicket with Luke Wells. But a brilliant catch in the deep from Ethan Brookes removed Jennings and halted Lancashire's progress, and the hosts lost five wickets for 22 runs to keep the target to under nine runs an over. When Kashif Ali smashed 39 off 21 balls, the Rapids were well over the required rate and on course for an away win. But the loss of captain Brett D'Oliveira (30) and Adam Hose (13) to reduce Worcestershire to 93-4 after 10.1 overs changed the complexion of the game. From there, Lancashire turned the screw and with the visitors needing 15 runs off the last over, Tom Aspinwall conceded just seven to deliver a morale-boosting first win of the season in any competition. Middlesex have been perennial strugglers in the South Group, unable to reach the quarter-finals for six years and without a Finals Day appearance since they won the competition in 2008. After winning the toss, they chipped away at Sussex's top order, helped by Tom Helm running out Daniel Hughes at the non-striker's end when the Australian was well set on 38. But Coles' best T20 score from 44 balls held the innings together as he put on an unbroken 88 with Tom Clark (26 not out) to take the score past 200. New Zealand star Kane Williamson, on his Middlesex debut, was spectacularly caught for 14 at deep point by a diving Harrison Ward, who almost lost his trousers in the process. However, they were soon behind the required rate and at 136-5 early in the 17th over, the game looked over. Higgins hit 44 off just 16 balls to give them a glimmer of hope until he was bowled by Ollie Robinson in the last over as the England bowler finished with an impressive 3-27. North Group: Leicester: Leicestershire Foxes v Derbyshire Falcons Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire Outlaws v Birmingham Bears Headingley: Yorkshire v Northamptonshire Steelbacks South Group: Taunton: Somerset v Surrey Bristol: Gloucestershire v Kent (19:00) Utilita Bowl: Hampshire Hawks v Essex Eagles (19:00)
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
T20 Blast begins with wins for Lancs and Sussex
This year's T20 Blast got under way with opening night victories for troubled Lancashire Lightning and last season's semi-finalists Sussex Sharks. A day after the departure of head coach Dale Benkenstein after a bad start to the season, Lancashire secured a tense seven-run victory over Worcestershire Rapids at Emirates Old Keaton Jennings led from the front in their North Group encounter as his side posted 176-8 with no Worcestershire batter going past 39 as they only made 169-7. In the South Group, Sussex began with a 16-run win at Lord's over Middlesex aided by a fine 77 not out from James Coles in their 51 from Ben Geddes and some lusty hitting from Ryan Higgins, the home side never looked in contention as they ended on 186-7. Morale booster for Lancs It has been a dreadful start to the season in the County Championship for Lancashire, who named former T20-winning captain Steven Croft as interim head coach, with no wins from their seven had already resigned as red-ball captain and the club apologised to its members before Benkenstein's in charge for the T20 Blast, Jennings brought up his 50 off 30 balls and put on 79 for the first wicket with Luke a brilliant catch in the deep from Ethan Brookes removed Jennings and halted Lancashire's progress, and the hosts lost five wickets for 22 runs to keep the target to under nine runs an Kashif Ali smashed 39 off 21 balls, the Rapids were well over the required rate and on course for an away the loss of captain Brett D'Oliveira (30) and Adam Hose (13) to reduce Worcestershire to 93-4 after 10.1 overs changed the complexion of the there, Lancashire turned the screw and with the visitors needing 15 runs off the last over, Tom Aspinwall conceded just seven to deliver a morale-boosting first win of the season in any competition. Sharks start strongly Middlesex have been perennial strugglers in the South Group, unable to reach the quarter-finals for six years and without a Finals Day appearance since they won the competition in winning the toss, they chipped away at Sussex's top order, helped by Tom Helm running out Daniel Hughes at the non-striker's end when the Australian was well set on Coles' best T20 score from 44 balls held the innings together as he put on an unbroken 88 with Tom Clark (26 not out) to take the score past Zealand star Kane Williamson, on his Middlesex debut, was spectacularly caught for 14 at deep point by a diving Harrison Ward, who almost lost his trousers in the process. However, they were soon behind the required rate and at 136-5 early in the 17th over, the game looked hit 44 off just 16 balls to give them a glimmer of hope until he was bowled by Ollie Robinson in the last over as the England bowler finished with an impressive 3-27. Friday's fixtures (18:30 BST unless stated) North Group:Leicester: Leicestershire Foxes v Derbyshire FalconsTrent Bridge: Nottinghamshire Outlaws v Birmingham BearsHeadingley: Yorkshire v Northamptonshire Steelbacks South Group:Taunton: Somerset v SurreyBristol: Gloucestershire v Kent (19:00)Utilita Bowl: Hampshire Hawks v Essex Eagles (19:00)
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Lancashire batter Harris signs new deal
Lancashire batter Marcus Harris has signed a new deal to remain with the club until the end of the 2027 32-year-old Australia international initially signed as an overseas player for this summer's County Championship and One-Day Cup has had an impressive start to 2025 despite the county's winless season so far and is the leading scorer in the County Championship, with 825 runs and an average of 63."I have loved the start of my time with Lancashire and I am really pleased to extend my contract at Old Trafford by a further two years," he said., external"It was a great honour to be asked to lead the Red Rose in four-day cricket and I hope that I can continue to make positive contributions, both with the bat and as a leader on the field."The start to this season hasn't been what we all would have wanted, but we are determined to put things right in the County Championship when we next take to the field at the end of June."Harris, who has played 14 Tests for Australia, joined having previously played county cricket with Leicestershire and impressive form this term has seen him score three centuries and three half-centuries this season and his contract extension comes after head coach Dale Benkenstein left by mutual consent earlier this week.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lancashire are tearing themselves apart on and off the pitch
The crisis enveloping Lancashire has deepened, as Dale Benkenstein left the club 'by mutual consent' on Wednesday, just a day before an AGM that promises to be explosive. Lancashire are enduring a desperate season on the field. Relegated from Division One of the County Championship last season, they are winless and a single point off bottom place in the second tier as the competition takes its mid-point break for the Vitality T20 Blast. Promotion, for which they were widely tipped, is slipping beyond their reach. A fortnight ago, Lancashire issued an unprecedented apology to members for the 'disappointing start' to the season, bemoaning the flat pitches at Old Trafford, but crucially backing Benkenstein and his coaching team. That statement was issued at 11.25am, but a little over three hours later in a move reminiscent of a scene from The Thick of It, another missive followed saying Keaton Jennings was resigning as captain of the County Championship team with in-form Australian Marcus Harris taking over. After a draw against Derbyshire and a thumping defeat at leaders Leicestershire in Harris's two games in charge, Benkenstein has now followed Jennings in leaving his post. Steven Croft, the 40-year-old who retired from playing last season, has been placed in interim charge. The messy, muddled triptych of statements act as an emblem for the club's start to a season in which Lancashire have been so bad that barely anyone noticed Yorkshire's slide to the lower reaches of Division One. South African Benkenstein, who enjoyed a fine career as a player, arrived from Gloucestershire, who finished bottom of Division Two in his last season in 2023 and had won just two Championship matches in two years. At Lancashire, he managed just three red-ball wins, all of them in a relegation campaign last year, out of 21 matches. It leaves the club at a low ebb; a far cry from 2022, when they finished second in all three county competitions. To compete on all three fronts is a fine achievement. All the while, a host of Lancashire products thrive elsewhere, such as Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed, Warwickshire captain Alex Davies, and Surrey's lynchpin Jordan Clark. It is unusual for a county coach to depart mid-season, but this one was greeted with little surprise and few complaints. Now, attention among a restless, angry support base will turn to those who hired him just 18 months ago with such a modest record: Mark Chilton, the director of cricket, Daniel Gidney, the chief executive, and Andy Anson, the chairman. They may feel that the departure of Benkenstein will slightly quieten the music they face at the annual general meeting at 4pm on Thursday, but that seems optimistic. Many will see the coach leaving as mere window dressing. Lancashire are as busy as any county cricket club. On the cricket side, they host men's and women's internationals, a Hundred franchise (which they are partnering with Indian Premier League side Lucknow Super Giants), a men's county team, and a tier-one women's team. They are also developing a playing and training base away from Old Trafford at Farington near Preston. Off the field, at their headquarters they have two hotels, a successful conferencing and events business, and have hosted major concerts. This makes them, and Surrey, the envy of other counties in terms of year-round non-cricket business. The two sides of the business should be able to coexist, but the sense among those close to the club is that the building of the off-field business has contributed to a loss of focus on cricket. Club legend David 'Bumble' Lloyd used his column in the Daily Mail last week to opine on the club's demise. 'There is a feeling, from both within and outside the club, that cricket isn't the main priority,' he wrote. 'Rather the balance sheet is. That is a real concern. We must get back to being a cricket club.' Lloyd described Anson, who is also CEO of the British Olympic Association, as a 'thoroughly decent bloke who is very busy doing lots of other things, so he can't be hands-on', adding that the well-respected board member John Abrahams is the 'only one with any cricket knowledge at senior level'. For context, Lloyd's lifetime in and around the club has led to him becoming one of 29 vice-presidents at Lancashire, and he still works for the club in commentary and commercial roles. He knows the place like the back of his hand, and his words carry weight. Lloyd's words would chime with many of Lancashire's members, who have been vocal in their dissent for some years. As one says: 'Lancashire and Old Trafford have become an events business attached to an inconvenient cricket team, and an even more inconvenient membership alongside that.' The members have a fraught relationship with the club's leaders. Anson has been in charge since 2020, and Gidney was appointed CEO in 2012, making him one of the longest-serving officials in county cricket. He has helped transform Lancashire off the field, has been innovative in his courting of the lucrative Indian market, and has been a great champion of women's cricket. It should be noted that Lancashire won the inaugural Vitality Women's County Cup on Monday, so it has not all been bad on the field at the start of the season. But he has also had a way of angering cricket fans, not least when he told a Lancashire members' forum that some non-host counties were like 'heroin addicts' in their reliance on the England and Wales Cricket Board. This matter is understood to have been raised at meeting of county leaders. On the more extreme fringe of the Red Rose membership was the Lancashire Action Group, which was founded in 2014 and replaced by Lancashire CC Members Group last year. Earlier this month, their leader Alan Higham wrote an open letter looking ahead to the AGM, saying 'the club is struggling – both on the pitch, financially and for the continued support of loyal fans'. They laid out a series of complaints, including the failure of the club to allow members to be represented on the board, and the stifling of dissent. Some of these issues can be expected to dominate proceedings at the AGM on Thursday. But chief among their complaints was 'a loss of focus on Lancashire CCC'. They accuse the club of failing to encourage attendances at Lancashire matches. In 2019, the last season before the pandemic and the inaugural Hundred, Lancashire's Blast attendances averaged more than 10,000. In 2024, not helped by a washed-out Roses match, that dropped to under 5,500. The highest attendance was still the Yorkshire fixture, at 7,699, with the lowest just 3,768. Blast numbers have been declining across the country since the Hundred (and will continue to do so this year, with advanced sales very poor), but Lancashire's is an extreme example. Membership figures have been dropping, too; in 2006, Lancashire had more than 12,000 members. Now they have just 1,400 full annual members, along with a few thousand others in lower categories that allow access to international tickets. This group clearly fluctuates year-on-year; there were a total of 8,604 members for the Ashes year of 2023, but that dropped to 5,022 in 2024. Members are always likely to grumble when a team perform as poorly as Lancashire are now. But for all that the off-field business is well set up, the club's finances are in a tight spot. When their last accounts (for 2023) were published, Lancashire had £32.2 million of debt, which is expensive to service. The club's finances are tied to the England calendar, and are vulnerable to the whims of the weather. In 2023, they hosted an Ashes Test, but two days were badly affected by rain, costing them revenue. Last year, their Test against Sri Lanka was a low-key affair, while the Roses match and T20 international against Australia were both rained off – bad luck, and brutal for the balance sheet. Next year, Old Trafford does not host a Test match of any sort, denying the club income from advance ticket sales, and in 2027 they are due to host a Test, but not in the Ashes. Last summer, concern about the club's cash flow rose among the playing group when there was a delay in their expenses being paid, affecting some players' personal financial position. When contacted by Telegraph Sport about this last year, the club accepted that one payment was delayed, putting it down to a change of system. Concerts, like Test matches, have been a sure-fire money-spinner for Lancashire in recent decades. There are currently no concerts in the diary, which the club say is because they are focusing on cricket. But reports in local and national media earlier this year revealed that Trafford Council, the local authority, had taken Lancashire CCC and mega-promoter Live Nation to court over an incident in which a member of the public was injured at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert three years ago. The trial will not happen until March 2027, and Lancashire are still able to host concerts while this happens, although it could be that the opening of the Co-Op Live arena in Manchester affects who performs there. Later this year, Lancashire will be offered a route out of their financial difficulties by the Hundred sale. Gidney, Anson and former board member James Sheridan deserve credit for their work on this, which secured them the IPL partner they so desperately sought, Lucknow's billionaire owner Sanjiv Goenka, and a good overall value of £116 million. Lancashire were gifted 51 per cent of the franchise by the ECB, and chose to sell 21 per cent and keep 30 per cent of it, meaning Goenka is buying 70 per cent overall. When the deal is eventually done – and it is not Lancashire or their partners dragging their feet – the club could receive upwards of £40 million and an opportunity to write off some of that debt and build the business further. That can wait, though. The first step out of Lancashire's crisis will be to win a few games.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Lancashire are tearing themselves apart on and off the pitch
The crisis enveloping Lancashire has deepened, as Dale Benkenstein left the club 'by mutual consent' on Wednesday, just a day before an AGM that promises to be explosive. Lancashire are enduring a desperate season on the field. Relegated from Division One of the County Championship last season, they are winless and a single point off bottom place in the second tier as the competition takes its mid-point break for the Vitality T20 Blast. Promotion, for which they were widely tipped, is slipping beyond their reach. Coach and captain step down A fortnight ago, Lancashire issued an unprecedented apology to members for the 'disappointing start' to the season, bemoaning the flat pitches at Old Trafford, but crucially backing Benkenstein and his coaching team. That statement was issued at 11.25am, but a little over three hours later in a move reminiscent of a scene from The Thick of It, another missive followed saying Keaton Jennings was resigning as captain of the County Championship team with in-form Australian Marcus Harris taking over. After a draw against Derbyshire and a thumping defeat at leaders Leicestershire in Harris's two games in charge, Benkenstein has now followed Jennings in leaving his post. Steven Croft, the 40-year-old who retired from playing last season, has been placed in interim charge. The messy, muddled triptych of statements act as an emblem for the club's start to a season in which Lancashire have been so bad that barely anyone noticed Yorkshire's slide to the lower reaches of Division One. South African Benkenstein, who enjoyed a fine career as a player, arrived from Gloucestershire, who finished bottom of Division Two in his last season in 2023 and had won just two Championship matches in two years. At Lancashire, he managed just three red-ball wins, all of them in a relegation campaign last year, out of 21 matches. It leaves the club at a low ebb; a far cry from 2022, when they finished second in all three county competitions. To compete on all three fronts is a fine achievement. All the while, a host of Lancashire products thrive elsewhere, such as Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed, Warwickshire captain Alex Davies, and Surrey's lynchpin Jordan Clark. It is unusual for a county coach to depart mid-season, but this one was greeted with little surprise and few complaints. Now, attention among a restless, angry support base will turn to those who hired him just 18 months ago with such a modest record: Mark Chilton, the director of cricket, Daniel Gidney, the chief executive, and Andy Anson, the chairman. Members in revolt They may feel that the departure of Benkenstein will slightly quieten the music they face at the annual general meeting at 4pm on Thursday, but that seems optimistic. Many will see the coach leaving as mere window dressing. Lancashire are as busy as any county cricket club. On the cricket side, they host men's and women's internationals, a Hundred franchise (which they are partnering with Indian Premier League side Lucknow Super Giants), a men's county team, and a tier-one women's team. They are also developing a playing and training base away from Old Trafford at Farington near Preston. Off the field, at their headquarters they have two hotels, a successful conferencing and events business, and have hosted major concerts. This makes them, and Surrey, the envy of other counties in terms of year-round non-cricket business. The two sides of the business should be able to coexist, but the sense among those close to the club is that the building of the off-field business has contributed to a loss of focus on cricket. 'There is a feeling that cricket isn't the priority' Club legend David 'Bumble' Lloyd used his column in the Daily Mail last week to opine on the club's demise. 'There is a feeling, from both within and outside the club, that cricket isn't the main priority,' he wrote. 'Rather the balance sheet is. That is a real concern. We must get back to being a cricket club.' Lloyd described Anson, who is also CEO of the British Olympic Association, as a 'thoroughly decent bloke who is very busy doing lots of other things, so he can't be hands-on', adding that the well-respected board member John Abrahams is the 'only one with any cricket knowledge at senior level'. For context, Lloyd's lifetime in and around the club has led to him becoming one of 29 vice-presidents at Lancashire, and he still works for the club in commentary and commercial roles. He knows the place like the back of his hand, and his words carry weight. Lloyd's words would chime with many of Lancashire's members, who have been vocal in their dissent for some years. As one says: 'Lancashire and Old Trafford have become an events business attached to an inconvenient cricket team, and an even more inconvenient membership alongside that.' The members have a fraught relationship with the club's leaders. Anson has been in charge since 2020, and Gidney was appointed CEO in 2012, making him one of the longest-serving officials in county cricket. He has helped transform Lancashire off the field, has been innovative in his courting of the lucrative Indian market, and has been a great champion of women's cricket. It should be noted that Lancashire won the inaugural Vitality Women's County Cup on Monday, so it has not all been bad on the field at the start of the season. But he has also had a way of angering cricket fans, not least when he told a Lancashire members' forum that some non-host counties were like 'heroin addicts' in their reliance on the England and Wales Cricket Board. This matter is understood to have been raised at meeting of county leaders. On the more extreme fringe of the Red Rose membership was the Lancashire Action Group, which was founded in 2014 and replaced by Lancashire CC Members Group last year. Earlier this month, their leader Alan Higham wrote an open letter looking ahead to the AGM, saying 'the club is struggling – both on the pitch, financially and for the continued support of loyal fans'. They laid out a series of complaints, including the failure of the club to allow members to be represented on the board, and the stifling of dissent. Some of these issues can be expected to dominate proceedings at the AGM on Thursday. But chief among their complaints was 'a loss of focus on Lancashire CCC'. They accuse the club of failing to encourage attendances at Lancashire matches. In 2019, the last season before the pandemic and the inaugural Hundred, Lancashire's Blast attendances averaged more than 10,000. In 2024, not helped by a washed-out Roses match, that dropped to under 5,500. The highest attendance was still the Yorkshire fixture, at 7,699, with the lowest just 3,768. Blast numbers have been declining across the country since the Hundred (and will continue to do so this year, with advanced sales very poor), but Lancashire's is an extreme example. Membership figures have been dropping, too; in 2006, Lancashire had more than 12,000 members. Now they have just 1,400 full annual members, along with a few thousand others in lower categories that allow access to international tickets. This group clearly fluctuates year-on-year; there were a total of 8,604 members for the Ashes year of 2023, but that dropped to 5,022 in 2024. Perilous finances Members are always likely to grumble when a team perform as poorly as Lancashire are now. But for all that the off-field business is well set up, the club's finances are in a tight spot. When their last accounts (for 2023) were published, Lancashire had £32.2 million of debt, which is expensive to service. The club's finances are tied to the England calendar, and are vulnerable to the whims of the weather. In 2023, they hosted an Ashes Test, but two days were badly affected by rain, costing them revenue. Last year, their Test against Sri Lanka was a low-key affair, while the Roses match and T20 international against Australia were both rained off – bad luck, and brutal for the balance sheet. Next year, Old Trafford does not host a Test match of any sort, denying the club income from advance ticket sales, and in 2027 they are due to host a Test, but not in the Ashes. Last summer, concern about the club's cash flow rose among the playing group when there was a delay in their expenses being paid, affecting some players' personal financial position. When contacted by Telegraph Sport about this last year, the club accepted that one payment was delayed, putting it down to a change of system. Concerts, like Test matches, have been a sure-fire money-spinner for Lancashire in recent decades. There are currently no concerts in the diary, which the club say is because they are focusing on cricket. But reports in local and national media earlier this year revealed that Trafford Council, the local authority, had taken Lancashire CCC and mega-promoter Live Nation to court over an incident in which a member of the public was injured at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert three years ago. The trial will not happen until March 2027, and Lancashire are still able to host concerts while this happens, although it could be that the opening of the Co-Op Live arena in Manchester affects who performs there. Later this year, Lancashire will be offered a route out of their financial difficulties by the Hundred sale. Gidney, Anson and former board member James Sheridan deserve credit for their work on this, which secured them the IPL partner they so desperately sought, Lucknow's billionaire owner Sanjiv Goenka, and a good overall value of £116 million. Lancashire were gifted 51 per cent of the franchise by the ECB, and chose to sell 21 per cent and keep 30 per cent of it, meaning Goenka is buying 70 per cent overall. When the deal is eventually done – and it is not Lancashire or their partners dragging their feet – the club could receive upwards of £40 million and an opportunity to write off some of that debt and build the business further.
