TOM SMITH TO SKIPPER LANCASHIRE

Date: 11th February 2015

A Paul Edwards copyright exclusive for L&DCC Official Website.

Steven Croft to be vice captain.

As if to prove that nice guys sometimes do win life’s big prizes, Lancashire have announced that Tom Smith is to succeed Glen Chapple as captain of the club.

Steven Croft will be Smith’s vice-captain but there is no doubt whatever that it is the appointment of the 29-year-old Liverpool-born all-rounder which will capture the headlines over the next day or two.

Smith’s appointment comes a few months after he enjoyed the best season of his career. In a misfiring side featuring several players who were way short of their best form, Smith took 54 wickets and scored 773 runs, figures that would do credit to a cricketer in a title-chasing side, never mind one that eventually went down to Division Two of the LV= County Championship.

There was little doubt who would win the 2014 Player of the Season award. Indeed, one of the few arguments against Smith’s appointment was that it might affect the form of a player whose career has also been blighted with long-term injuries

As it is, Lancashire’s new captain is a Lancashire lad who has been given the honour of leading the team he has always supported. Smith started his career in the Northern League with home-town team of Chorley and was a member of Lancashire’s Academy in 2003/4 before earning a Scholarship deal in 2005, the summer in which he made his first-class debut against Oxford University.

Smith was part of Lancashire’s Championship-winning squad in 2011, which was another excellent summer for him and one he capped off by entering the record books thanks to a stunning display in a 40-over win over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

He lit up Trent Bridge with a fabulous 104-ball 117, the first ton of his one-day career, before returning figures of 4-48 from his eight overs as a thrilling two-run win was secured.Smith thus became the first Red Rose player ever to score a hundred and take four wickets in the same one-day match.

Justifying Smith’s appointment Lancashire’s Cricket Director and Head Coach Ashley Giles said: “Tom has all the right ingredients of a good leader. He is well-respected, he plays all forms of the game, is a good professional, extremely mature and a good communicator.

“He is a guy who has come through the Lancashire system and knows exactly what it means to play for such a great county.

“The same can also be said of our new vice-captain, Steven Croft, who is another exceptional individual.

“Glen (Chapple) has done a fantastic job. He has moved into coaching and this is now an opportunity for the next generation of leaders. I believe the future of the Club is in good hands.”

Lancashire captain Tom Smith added: “It is a tremendous honour for me to be appointed captain of the county I grew up supporting and have been lucky enough to play for.

“The Red Rose means so much to me as it does to all our members and supporters and I can assure everybody that I will lead our county to the best of my ability at all times.

“With the appointment of Ashley as Cricket Director and Head Coach it is an exciting new era for Lancashire Cricket and one which we are all looking forward to.

“There have been some great captains of this Club over the years, none more so than Glen Chapple who I have learnt a great deal from over the years, not just as a cricketer but also as a leader.

“I cannot wait to get started as captain and I would like to thank the Club for putting their faith in me for this very important and responsible role.”

Smith’s connections with the Med Imaging Liverpool Competition are comparatively slight. A couple of matches for Formby in 2008 is about the measure of them. That, however, doesn’t matter at all at the moment. Everyone on Merseyside will wish Lancashire’s new skipper all the best in his new role.

For, after all, who doesn’t like Tom Smith?