the NatWest Trophy, and being relegated in the National League. In 2001, Lancashire avoided relegation by just 5 points and were not promoted in the National League. The end of the season saw the retirement of Ian Austin from first-class cricket and of Mike Atherton from all forms of cricket. John Crawley left the club in the winter after not being retained as captain. Between 2001 and 2002 saw the squad change significantly, with players recruited from Essex, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire, and Yorkshire; the most notable additions to the squad were Stuart Law and David Byas – the Yorkshire captain of the previous season. After a quiet 2001 season – finishing mid-table in the county championship and again failing to secure promotion in the National League – 2002 was far more encouraging. Mike Watkinson was appointed cricket manager, and Stuart Law and Alec Swann both scored over 1,000 first-class runs and Peter Martin and Glen Chapple both took more than 50 wickets; the find of the season was that of James Anderson, who burst onto the scene with 50 wickets in the second half of the season, earning him a promotion to the England side. At the end of the season, Lancashire stalwarts Neil Fairbrother and Graham Lloyd retired. 2003 was a promising year, and Lancashire were genuine contenders for the county championship. Mark Chilton, Carl Hooper and Mal Loye all scored over 1,000 runs and Stuart Law was player of the year with 1,820 runs. Altogether, 28 championship centuries were scored for Lancashire, the second highest total in a season for the club. Gary Keedy was lead wicket taker with 60 wickets, supported by Martin and Chapple who took 41 and 49 respectively. They were promoted from the second division of the National League, lost in the semi-final of the C&G Trophy, and finished second in the county championship. In 2004, Lancashire were relegated to the second division of the County Championship for the first time since the competition was restructured into two divisions. This was despite starting the season as the bookmarkers' favourite to win the competition. At one point in the season, the team was without eight bowlers, with James Anderson, Andrew Flintoff, and Sajid Mahmood on international duty, while Glen Chapple, Dominic Cork, Kyle Hogg, Peter Martin, and all-rounder Carl Hooper were all injured. Their problems were not blamed solely on the injuries, Watkinson said "quite simply