Lancashire appoint Mark Chilton as director of cricket performance

Chilton, who made nearly 200 appearances for Lancashire between 1997 and 2011, replaces Paul Allott who retired from the role at the end of the 2021 season

Lancashire have appointed Mark Chilton as their new director of cricket performance.

The 44-year-old, who made nearly 200 first-class appearances for Lancashire and captained the Red Rose between 2005 and 2007, replaces Paul Allott, who retired from the role at the end of the 2021 season.

Chilton, who retired from playing in 2011, joined Lancashire’s coaching staff in 2014 before spending the 2017 season as an assistant coach at Melbourne Renegades in Australia’s Big Bash League. In November 2018, he was appointed as Lancashire’s performance director and assistant coach.

"We are delighted to appoint Mark, who was the outstanding candidate for the role of director of cricket performance," said chief executive, Daniel Gidney. "We had significant interest in the position, as expected, with a vast number of applications from across the world of cricket, as well as other high-performance sports."

Chilton added: "It’s an honour to be named as director of cricket performance having been involved with Lancashire for over 20 years now, as a player and a coach.

"We’ve got a highly talented group of players, both male and female, with an experienced coaching set up working across Lancashire. I will dedicate myself to this new opportunity and look forward to working with the board, executive team and coaching staff at Emirates Old Trafford to write a new, successful chapter in the club’s history."

As the club’s director of cricket performance, Chilton will be responsible for both elite performance and pathway cricket at Emirates Old Trafford as well as working with the Lancashire Cricket Foundation to boost recreational cricket in the county.