I decided that I wouldn't do too much tweaking from the squad already present at Lancashire.
The default squad seems a little light on batsmen, and I had to consider who was likely to be playing in the IPL and internationals but there have always been some decent fringe players at Lancashire who could step in to cover. The big feature this year is being able to train batsmen to be better in the middle order/opener which could be a huge advantage. Last year Alex Davies was a makeshift opener and in this year's squad he's earned his "O" badge next to his name.
I decided to sign a 2nd T20 overseas player Aiden Markram from SA - an opener with a T20 career average of 35 - not too expensive and a good partner to Faulkner who I already have signed.
I also looked at youth and signed two players with stand out 2nd XI averages. Alex Marsh with a middle order batting average of 40 and 2,000 runs.... and a raw RF bowler Andrew Winters to cover for Jimmy being in the test side. (135 2ndXI wickets @ 29) who is young enough to be moulded. Both on 3 year contracts in the event they perform well and their value increases. They are quite likely to see matches this year!
I ended the bidding 33,000 in the red, so will need to peform well this season as well as clear out any dead wood to break even next year. Until I hit my straps I have no idea if I'll be competitive in all formats. To truly reflect real life Lancashire, I'm likely to be inconsistent and fall short across all three!