MARK CHILTON, the 28- year-old batsman, has been named as Lancashire’s captain for the 2005 season in succession to Warren Hegg. After the county’s relegation to the second division of the county championship, Hegg has stepped down after three years as captain. Stuart Law will be vice-captain.

Chilton’s task will be no sinecure. He takes over the leadership of a vastly experienced team who were fancied to win their first outright championship for 70 years. A season of chronic underperformance saw them finish eighth, having won just two championship matches.

His task will be made easier, however, by the return to Old Trafford of Muttiah Muralitharan for the first half of the season. In two previous stints with Lancashire, the Sri Lanka off spinner took 116 wickets in 14 first-class matches.

Steve Kirby, the former Yorkshire seam bowler, has signed for Gloucestershire on a three-year contract. Kirby, 27, who was called up to the England A tour to India last winter, spent four seasons at Headingley. In 47 championship matches for Yorkshire, he took 182 wickets at an average of 28.26.

Surrey have raised £1 million in sales of debentures for seats in the new stand at the Vauxhall Road end of the Oval. The debentures, which cost £2,000 each, guarantee tickets for international matches over an eight-year period.

A motion of no confidence in the running of Kent has been resubmitted by members angry at the departures of Ed Smith to Middlesex and Alex Loudon to Warwickshire after the end of the season. It was originally thrown out on a technicality. The necessary 100 signatures have been gathered to force an extraordinary general meeting. Graham Johnson, the new chairman of the cricket committee, appealed to members at a forum at Canterbury last night to back the club, which is to appoint a director of cricket.

The structure of coaching is to be reviewed and David Fulton, the captain, admitted an error had been made in letting Andrew Symonds select a side without Smith for a Twenty20 Cup match.