Glen Chapple is one of most consistent bowlers in county cricket, and many considered him unlucky not to have won previous international recognition when he was finally called up to the England ODI squad in 2006. Sadly it was a short-lived moment as he was injured during his debut against Ireland. He had been close, firstly in 1995 when he was tipped to be included against West Indies following a successful A tour, but lost out to team-mate Peter Martin, and again in 2003, against South Africa, when he was called into the squad for the Trent Bridge Test.

He continued to be a highly reliable performer for Lancashire. In 2004 he passed 500 first-class wickets, while his batting developed to such an extent that that he earned a promotion to No. 6. Unlike some bowlers, he has little problem controlling the white ball in one-day cricket, and has put in many match-winning efforts. His best moment remains the 1996 NatWest final at Lord's, when he took 6 for 18 to skittle Essex for just 57.

It is a tribute to his extraordinary durability and dedication to the game that 15 years later he was still good enough to lead Lancashire to their first outright Championship title in 77 years, missing four of the 16 matches through injury yet still taking 55 wickets, his biggest haul in 20 seasons. The last of those, that of Somerset's Craig Meschede on the last day of the season as Lancashire clinched the title at Taunton, gave him his 800th first-class wicket for Lancashire in a season when he also passed 7,000 runs for the county. He was named Player of the Year for the second year running.

Chapple succeeded Stuart Law as Lancashire captain ahead of the 2009 season, forming a strong partnership with incoming coach Peter Moores. He never saw himself as a natural leader but has been popular in the role and Lancashire announced he would lead them again in 2013 as they attempted to bounce back from relegation. Lancashire's dismal failure to defend their title in 2012 came despite more heroic efforts from their captain, who took five wickets in each innings against Middlesex at Lord's in the penultimate match yet still could not prevent the defeat that confirmed relegation.
ESPNcricinfo staff