Mark Chilton and David Thorley to leave Lancashire in cricket restructure

Lancashire are changing their cricket leadership, with director of cricket performance Mark Chilton and director of women's cricket David Thorley both set to leave the county. BBC Sport reported the departures as part of a restructuring, with the men's team facing its lowest County Championship finish and the women's side also coming off a difficult campaign.

Chilton, a former Lancashire captain, has spent more than two decades with the county. He joined the coaching staff in 2014 and took on his current position in 2021. His departure comes with Lancashire seventh in Division Two with one match remaining, leaving them at risk of finishing last in the division.

The men's season began with two wins and a draw, but their next 10 Championship matches brought eight defeats and two draws. BBC Sport's subsequent examination of the campaign highlighted a sustained shortage of runs: Lancashire had earned only one batting bonus point in their previous nine matches. Their highest total across nine completed innings since the competition resumed in late August was 192.

Those batting difficulties have contrasted with individual bowling returns. James Anderson and George Balderson have both reached 50 Championship wickets, and no team had collected more bowling bonus points than Lancashire, according to the BBC. Anderson took over the captaincy permanently for 2026, while Steven Croft had been appointed permanent head coach after an interim spell during the previous season.

Thorley has overseen women's cricket since 2020, a period that included the move from regional teams to a county-based structure. Lancashire won the One-Day Cup and T20 County Cup in 2025 during his tenure. This season brought markedly different results: the women finished bottom of the T20 Blast standings and did not reach the One-Day Cup knockout stages.

Chief executive Daniel Gidney thanked both departing directors for their work in comments to the club's website carried by BBC Sport. He identified the County Championship as central to Lancashire's cricketing ambitions and said the women's team should regularly compete for major honours. Gidney credited Chilton's long service and Thorley's leadership through the changes to the women's game, while reiterating the club's ambition to win matches and challenge for trophies.