Welcome to Lanky Lanky - a new home for independent written coverage of the Red Rose

When new men’s head coach Steven Croft made his Lancashire debut as a young pup in a first-class friendly against Oxford University at The Parks in May 2005, coverage of county cricket was thriving. 

Local newspapers carried regular reports, news and features, and there were a host of national correspondents present at each County Championship match.

Fast forward two decades and things have changed significantly. Column inches on county cricket are now few and far between. Football is seen as king. 

BBC Radio Lancashire and Scott Read, however, do a wonderful job covering the county club day in and day out, but the written word is so, so valuable. 

And that’s where Lanky Lanky comes in, under the banner of CounterPress, who have other sites such as The Rey at Surrey, The Hawk at Hampshire, The Bear at Warwickshire, King Pears at Worcestershire and, whisper it quietly, The White Rose Files from across the M62.

We aim to fill that void and bring you bespoke coverage of cricket in your county - our county. 

Although Lancashire as a club have been incredibly supportive and helpful in terms of this exciting project, this coverage will absolutely be independent. 

There will be features, news, interviews and match reports from the men’s and women’s senior teams throughout the summer along with words on disability cricket and the recreational game. On average, we expect to produce between two and four articles per week.

We have two core aims. To inform and entertain. 

This is going to be a fun ride, and we’d love you to join us.

Who are we? 

Co-editors Paul Edwards and Graham Hardcastle have been covering Lancashire, and county cricket more widely, in a freelance capacity for more than two decades now.

Paul is a must-read writer when it comes to his work, chiefly for The Times and The Cricketer, two other independent outlets who do impressive work covering county cricket.

He first watched Lancashire play in 1965, when they entertained Derbyshire at his second home, Trafalgar Road, Southport. (Paul still writes about club cricket for the local paper).

He finds the county game endlessly fascinating, and few people get more value from their senior railcard.

Graham is a rarity in the sense that he has a deep-rooted love for both Lancashire, his home county, and Yorkshire, where much of his freelance work is now based.

If he ever writes a Memoir, the title is already set….A thorn in between two Roses. 

His first away game covering Lancashire, for the Manchester Evening News, was actually Croft’s first-class debut at Oxford. 

Both of us have co-written books on the Red Rose.

Graham was involved alongside Chris Ostick in Champions About Bloomin’ Time in 2011, and both of us were involved in the 150 Years of Lancashire Cricket book in 2014, celebrating the club's sesquicentennial. Paul’s Summer Days Promise was published in 2023.

We also both cover Lancashire for the ECB Reporters Network.

Follow us on X @Lanky_Lanky and on Facebook, LankyLanky.