Paul Farbrace appointed Lancashire director of cricket, weeks before taking up Sussex role
Lancashire have appointed Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace as their new director of cricket, weeks before he was due to assume the same role at Hove, the clubs confirmed on Tuesday. Farbrace, 59, will replace Mark Chilton, who left Old Trafford last month after five years in the job, and will also have oversight of Lancashire's women's team.
Sussex announced in July that Farbrace would move from head coach into a part-time director of cricket role from November, after he had earlier told the club in April that he would step down as head coach at the end of the 2026 season following financial problems at Hove that triggered a points deduction. He had overseen the appointment of Matt Walker as his planned successor and led Sussex to promotion from Division Two in 2024 before guiding them to third place in Division One this season despite beginning with a 12-point penalty.
Lancashire arrive at the appointment amid a difficult period on the field: they finished the season seventh in Division Two of the County Championship, the lowest position in the club's history. Since 2023 the Red Rose have won only 11 of their 56 Championship matches, a record that includes relegation in 2024 and two seasons of struggle in Division Two.
The club's form this summer deteriorated further with a run of nine defeats in 10 matches stretching from May to September, leaving Lancashire only above the bottom of the table courtesy of Gloucestershire. It is also 11 years since Lancashire last won one of the main domestic prizes, their T20 Blast triumph in 2015, a fact the club's membership has cited alongside concerns about a perceived shift in focus toward commercial activity and the county's links with the Indian backers of the Manchester Super Giants in The Hundred.
Farbrace's arrival is the first significant appointment by Lancashire's new chief executive Richard Kenyon, who has pledged a review of the cricket operation at Emirates Old Trafford. Kenyon said: "Paul's credentials and capability for this role were obviously very clear, but he particularly impressed us with his understanding of where the club is and what we need to do to move forward," adding: "Paul brings significant experience across both the men's and women's game, as well as an excellent track record of success. We wanted an established, high-performing director of cricket, with a strong understanding of the leagues, players and wider landscape of the game - and Paul ticks all those boxes."
Farbrace will operate above head coach Steven Croft, who has just completed his first full season in charge at Lancashire. On his departure from Sussex Farbrace said: "It is with mixed emotions that I am leaving Sussex after four years. I will always be grateful to Sussex for giving me the honour of being head coach and allowing me to work with a fabulous group of players and staff."
Adrian Harms of BBC Radio Sussex described the news as coming "completely out of the blue" and said it would be "both a hammer blow and total shock to everyone at the club." During his four years with Sussex Farbrace guided the county from the bottom of Division Two to promotion and re-established them in Division One, a record of progress that Sussex now lose as he departs for Lancashire.
Farbrace had been due to take up a part-time director of cricket role at Sussex from November but will instead join Lancashire to replace Mark Chilton and to oversee the men's and the women's programmes at Emirates Old Trafford.
