At the start of his 16th season at the helm of Northern, James Cole is still looking to the future.

The Liverpool Competition’s longest-serving 1st XI captain has been making sure his side keep evolving and adapting. 

Lancashire Cup glory at Emirates Old Trafford last year was more than adequate compensation for a season spent lagging behind Ormskirk in the league.

And Cole says he still has the fire in his belly to compete on all fronts.

He said: “I love cricket and I love the club and I’ve still got burning ambitions to win more trophies. 

“I don’t want to be looking back, retired at the age of 38 or 39, and feeling like I’ve got plenty left in the tank and more to offer. 

“I want to see these young lads develop and help the next generation.”

Lancashire Academy batter and occasional off-spinner George Harris arrives from Elton aged just 16 to fill the gap left by Andrew Clarke’s departure for Birkenhead Park.

And left-arm seamer Josh Thompson joins from defending champions Ormskirk to add some variety to Northern’s attack.

Cole said: “We didn’t envisage losing Andrew, so George was going to come in 2025. But a slot opened up for him earlier, so it was a no-brainer.

“He’s someone we’ve heard really good reports on and we think he’s going to be a really good cricketer.

“Josh brings something different to the attack and can bat down the order as well, so he adds to the depth of the side. 

“What we found really difficult over the last few years, especially at home, was taking 10 wickets because of how flat the wicket is. 

“So having something different in the attack is useful.”

Northern finished 42 points behind Ormskirk, but the gap could have been tighter had they taken just two more wickets, to convert early-season draws against Wallasey and Rainford into wins.

Cole reckons a soggy start to the summer could make it a bit easier to bowl sides out when we finally get going. 

“This year, more than ever, the weather is going to have a massive role,” he said.

“We’ve struggled taking 10 wickets at home but because of the weather we’ve had, Northern isn’t going to be as batter-friendly as it has been, so that’s been a bit of a positive in our eyes.

“It wasn’t just down to the wicket, we could have put our foot down with the bat a little bit more and given ourselves time to bowl sides out. 

“We’re under no illusions that we’ve got to play a really positive brand of cricket. 

“It is going to be a competitive league but a lot of it depends on who you’re playing when.” 

Their chances will be boosted by the return of Australian all-rounder Alex Vincent, a key cog in their cup runs in particular, and some youngsters looking to make the step up from the 2nd XI – in particular Shivi Gautam, a 13-year-old batter on Lancashire’s radar.

And after a glorious day out at Old Trafford, and a few hard-luck stories in the other competitions, the aim is to bring more silverware back to Moor Park.

Cole said: “Winning the Lancashire Cup has been a long time coming. 

“We’ve been one of the best cup sides in the county, if not the country, for a handful of years. 

“We lost in a bowl-out to St Anne’s in the National Knockout, and I think we’d have gone really deep in that competition last year.

“And barring a fellow from Sandiacre Town whacking 20 in an over, we’d have been in the National T20 final. 

“Although it was great to win the Lancs Cup and the local T20, we could have ended up with three or four trophies. 

“Ormskirk ran away with the league, they were strong from the outset and we were playing catch-up with the amount of cricket we were playing. 

“The league is your bread and butter and a competition we want to win every year, and it’s going to be competitive again this year. 

“But if we play well, we’ll take a lot of beating.”