Farbrace quits Sussex to become Lancashire director of cricket

Farbrace ends four-year Sussex tenure for Old Trafford switch

Paul Farbrace has left Sussex to become Lancashire's new director of cricket, weeks before he was due to begin a part-time director of cricket role at Hove.

The 59-year-old, who took over at Hove in 2022, was confirmed in July as moving from head coach to director of cricket from November on a part-time basis, where he would work alongside newly-appointed head coach Matt Walker. Instead, he now departs to take over from Mark Chilton, who left the post at Old Trafford last month after five years in the job. Farbrace will also oversee Lancashire's women's team in his new position.

"It is with mixed emotions that I am leaving Sussex after four years," Farbrace told the club's website. "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."

Lancashire's worst season sparks overhaul

Farbrace's arrival is the first significant appointment by Lancashire's new chief executive Richard Kenyon, who promised a review of the cricket operation at Emirates Old Trafford. Lancashire finished seventh in Division Two of the County Championship — second-from-bottom and, as reported on 9 October 2026, the lowest position in the county's 161-year history as a first-class side.

Since 2023, Farbrace's first season at Sussex, the Red Rose have won only 11 of their 56 Championship matches, including relegation in 2024 and two further seasons struggling in Division Two. A dire run of nine losses in 10 matches this summer, stretching from May to September, saw only Gloucestershire keep them off the bottom of the table.

It is now 11 years since Lancashire won one of cricket's main prizes — the T20 Blast in 2015 — and there has been a nagging feeling among the membership that focus had shifted away from the playing side to the commercial side, as well as a growing relationship with the Indian backers of the Manchester Super Giants in The Hundred. Bringing in a figure of Farbrace's experience to work above head coach Steven Croft, who has just finished his first full season, is a sign that things are being realigned.

"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," Kenyon told Lancashire's website. "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."

'A hammer blow for Sussex'

At Sussex, Farbrace guided the club to third place in Division One this season despite beginning with a 12-point penalty, having led them to promotion from Division Two in 2024. The financial problems at Hove that triggered that deduction led Farbrace to announce in April that he would step down as head coach at the end of the 2026 season, before reversing course in July to take the part-time director role and oversee the appointment of Matt Walker as his successor.

Adrian Harms, BBC Radio Sussex, described the departure as a shock: "The news that Paul Farbrace is leaving Sussex has come completely out of the blue, and will come both as a hammer blow and total shock to everyone at the club."

With Sussex still under tight financial controls imposed by the ECB, and with bowler Henry Crocombe and wicketkeeper John Simpson already having moved on, there are concerns that other players out of contract next season may be forced to seek pastures new — concerns only highlighted by Farbrace's exit. "He is immensely popular among the players, staff, supporters, members, as well as the media, and his loss to the club cannot be exaggerated," Harms added.