County Championship preview: Lancashire

2011 in a nutshell The Red Rose county won their first outright Championship title for 77 years, ending a 12 -ear spell without a trophy. Need we say more? How they finished County Championship 1st in Division One CB40 fourth in Group C Friends Life t20 third in Northern Group What they'll be playing in this season LV County Championship Division One, CB40 Group A, Friends Life t20 North Group Captain Glen Chapple Coach Peter Moores Ins Naqaash Tahir (Warwickshire) Outs Steven Cheetham (released), Mark Chilton (retired) Overseas players Ashwell Prince (SA) Key player Chapple, as usual. Hopalong hero of the dramatic Championship triumph in Taunton last September, Lancashire will again use their veteran captain sparingly during the one-day competitions. Tom Smith also has a crucial all-round role in all forms of the game. How will they get on this season? Maintaining last year's level of achievement from a squad that remains largely low-profile and homespun will present another big test of Moores's famous motivational powers. However they are making all the right noises, and players such as Smith, Karl Brown, Luke Procter, Steven Croft and the exciting left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan are capable of kicking on. Prince's presence in the middle-order also strengthens the most obvious area of weakness