What's gone wrong at Lancashire?

With one match of the 2026 season remaining, unwanted history beckons for Lancashire.

This proud county is staring at the lowest finish in their 136 years of competing in the Championship. They are seventh in Division Two and could finish bottom.

Never before have Lancashire ended a season either 17th or 18th position out of all the first-class counties, but after a miserable summer of red-ball cricket, it is now staring them in the face.

They begin the final round of games nine points above bottom side Gloucestershire, but it would be little surprise if Lancashire, who welcome runaway Division Two champions Durham starting on Thursday, were overtaken and ended up bottom of the pile given how the last few months have played out.

So how has it gone so wrong for one of English cricket's traditional powerhouses?

Since the launch of the two-tier system in 2000, Lancashire had previously spent only three years in Division Two, bouncing back to the top flight as champions at the first time of asking on each occasion.

But following a fourth relegation two years ago, things have been far from straightforward in the second tier.

Expecting a quick turnaround, head coach Dale Benkenstein left the club halfway through the 2025 season after Lancashire started with no wins from their opening seven Championship games.

By that point, captain Keaton Jennings had already resigned and an apology had been issued to members for poor results.

Just before his own departure, Benkenstein had talked about a lack of clarity , externalwithin the club about whether the priority was to produce a winning team or to bring through young players. Fast forward over 12 months and that perceived issue has not been resolved.

Former player Steven Croft took over in an interim role from the South African and with three wins from the second half of the season with improved cricket and morale, he was handed the head coach job permanently.

With England legend James Anderson taking on the captaincy on a permanent basis for 2026, the hope was Lancashire would be challenging for promotion this year.

That certainly looked the case as the Red Rose won two and drew one of their first three matches, as Anderson took 21 wickets, including a match-winning 4-18 against Derbyshire.

However, a victory over Gloucestershire in Bristol was one that came at a heavy price as opener Luke Wells and new quick bowler Ajeet Singh Dale picked up injuries that turned out to be season-ending.

From that point in mid-April, the wheels have fallen off in a big way. Lancashire have proceeded to lose eight of the next 10 Championship matches, with the other two being rain-affected draws.

And it is in batting where the Red Rose's flaws have been primarily exposed.

Lancashire have posted one batting bonus point from the past nine matches - a total of 281-8 declared against Worcestershire in May - the only time a first innings score has ticked past 250.

Since the Championship resumed at the end of August, Lancashire's highest total in nine completed first and second innings is 192, with teenager Rocky Flintoff's 65 the highest individual score.

There have only been three Championship centuries all season and collapses have become commonplace, meaning the end-of-year batting averages are going to make for gruesome reading.

Take the last match against Kent. Openers Michael Jones and Jennings battled through the whole morning session on the opening day without losing a wicket, yet within 20 minutes of the restart after lunch, Lancashire had fallen from 81-0 to 82-4 and eventually lost all 10 wickets in the session to be all out for 161.

With the ball, no side has collected more bowling points than Lancashire, while Anderson and George Balderson are two of only six Division Two bowlers to take 50 wickets or more and the only ones in the same side.

But with not enough runs to play with, it has been hard to put opposition teams under serious and lasting pressure.

Lancashire's winless run

27 April: Durham (a) - LOST by eight wickets

10 May: Middlesex (h) - LOST by six wickets

18 May: Worcestershire (h) - Match drawn

14 June: Kent (h) - LOST by 140 runs

21 June: Derbyshire (a) - LOST by nine wickets

23 August: Northants (h) - LOST by 316 runs

30 August: Worcestershire (a) - Match drawn

4 September: Middlesex (a) - LOST by 160 runs

11 September: Gloucestershire (h) - LOST by 105 runs

17 September: Kent (a) - LOST by seven wickets

'A horrible place to be in'

Lancashire's title success in 2011 is their only sole Championship win since 1934, but that should not hide the fact that they remain one of English cricket's biggest teams, able to call upon far superior resources to most of the other sides in county cricket and certainly those in Division Two.

That only makes the paucity of current performances worse and the mood around Emirates Old Trafford is dark.

Many of the club's members are unhappy at how they believe cricket has been secondary in recent years to concerts and conferences and more attention diverted towards Manchester Super Giants in The Hundred.

Chief executive Daniel Gidney is stepping down, with Richard Kenyon arriving from Nottinghamshire to replace him while West Indies great Clive Lloyd has become the new club president and former captain and coach Mike Watkinson has been voted on to the board - with the hope of bringing cricketing expertise to fruition.

And significant change is set to happen this winter after Lancashire announced on Monday the departure of director of cricket performance Mark Chilton, the sign that things must improve on the field, with Gidney referencing the Championship as being at the heart of the club's 'cricketing vision', external.

Remarkably, Lancashire have only won two red-ball matches in four seasons at Old Trafford and fans have watched their team be out-performed on home soil in all three disciplines by Northants and Gloucestershire recently.

Confidence in the team is low and head coach Croft knows it is a tough time for all concerned.

"You don't want to go through this as a player but usually you come out of it a better player," he told BBC Radio Lancashire after the three-day loss at Kent in the last round.

"Then you don't take it for granted when it is going well. But it's a horrible place to be in, as a team as a well as individuals, we're not really clicking.

"Four-day cricket is tough. It's a competitive division, some tricky surfaces, some of the lads have to problem-solve on the job, but that's what it's about to be a good four-day side."

'May take time to turn fortunes around'

Scott Read, BBC Radio Lancashire commentator

The numbers are well documented, and they don't make for pretty reading. Lancashire have not made 200 in any innings since June, their last batting point came in May and not since April have they managed to pick up more than two batting points.

Since their last win in April against Gloucestershire, they have lost eight of the following 10 Championship matches.

Lancashire have never finished bottom of the County Championship; it's a fate that they will probably avoid even though bottom club Gloucestershire have managed more wins heading into the final round of games.

It's the match against Gloucestershire in Bristol where things started to go wrong this year, season-ending injuries for Ajeet Singh Dale and Luke Wells in the same game deprived them of a new marquee signing and their opening batter.

In fact, they've used seven different opening partnerships this season, their first stand of 50 for the first wicket didn't come until September. Only two players have scored a century, Marcus Harris has done it twice with Paul Coughlin batting at eight being the other.

They've used 25 different players, it's been that kind of season.

Yes, the numbers don't make for pretty reading, at least those numbers don't. In the middle of all this is a remarkable display of endurance, fitness and sheer desire to play which has seen James Anderson miss only two red-ball games.

He's captained and carried the side all summer, ending the season with over 50 wickets. Not since 2005 has Anderson taken 50 wickets in a season for Lancashire. George Balderson has also passed 50 this year, the first time in his career he's reached that milestone.

The club continue to try to give younger players a chance - Rocky Flintoff, Arav Shetty, Joe Moores and Ben Walkden all featuring. But it's 15 years ago that Lancashire last won the title, it's over a decade since they last won major silverware.

And, since finishing second in Division One in 2022 the Red Rose have only won 11 of the following 55 Championship matches, with a relegation in 2024 and are now set for a third successive season in Division Two.

Cricket has a wonderful habit of making fools of us all, it can quickly prove us all wrong, but the trend is worrying and the fear among many members is that it may take some time to turn the fortunes of this famous old club around.