By his own admission, his first offerings for Northamptonshire were less than eye-catching.”I played in a few one-dayers but I didn’t do myself justice,” he said, explaining why his name has not been prominent in recent selections. Stephen Peters, who went into this match with an average of 16, gave his prospects a fillip with a superb 142 on Thursday. Yesterday, it was the turn of David Wigley, who has played in only one championship game since his move from Worcestershire, to advertise himself.
Wigley, a 24-year-old pace bowler, has been looking for a county where his talents could flourish since realising it would not be his native Yorkshire. There are at least a couple of touring Pakistanis here with their eyes on the second Test and at least a couple of county players who have seized the chance to raise their own profile. Fulton was then dropped on 52 by Stuart Law at slip off Cork. He eventually stepped down the track to Gary Keedy and drove weakly to Cork at short extra. The fall of four more wickets raised Lancashire hopes, but it was not to be..

Tour matches may enjoy a somewhat questionable status in the cricket calendar of today but they are nothing if not an opportunity. Having helped to put on 119 for the second wicket with Fulton, Van Jaarsveld attempted a half-hearted pull off Cork and the ball flew straight to the substitute fielder Tom Smith at deep backward square leg.Walker came and went, falling to a tame bat-pad. Key, the captain, was dismissed off the third ball of the morning, caught behind by Gareth Cross off a fiery Glen Chapple. Key’s protracted departure from the crease suggested he felt he had not made contact.The Lancashire bowlers really put their backs into the task, but Fulton and his new partner Martin van Jaarsveld rode their luck and displayed admirable patience as they chipped away at the target.The rest of the morning session belonged to Kent, Van Jaarsveld passing 50 for the ninth time this summer and surviving a blow to the helmet by Dominic Cork, another Lancashire bowler who was fired up throughout the day and exchanged pleasantries with sections of the crowd.Flintoff’s enforced absence from the attack – his two overs yesterday were bowled well below full pace – fuelled the determination of the rest of the bowlers.They all rose to the task after lunch when Kent’s grip on proceedings was loosened. Maximum points and maximum tension marked Kent’s fourth Championship victory of the season, a win which lifted them into third on the table and opened up the title race. Lancashire’s gloom was deepened by the loss of Andrew Flintoff from their attack on the final day because of discomfort in his troublesome left ankle, and by the knowledge that Kent had closed the gap on the second-placed Red Rose county. While the loss of Flintoff was significant, the foundation of the defeat lay in Lancashire’s inadequate first-innings total and a clutch of dropped catches, two of them yesterday and one first time around when Matthew Walker was on one – the Kent man going on to make a very big hundred.
But the Lancashire bowlers stuck admirably to their task and in the sultry mid-afternoon heat had Kent supporters chewing their nails as they reduced them to 179 for 8, but Amjad Khan and Min Patel kept their heads and their wickets to steer Kent home with some 23 overs to spare.The portents had not been that good at the start of the day when the Kent openers Robert Key and David Fulton resumed the chase for the 215 runs required.

Wides are unavoidable in one-day cricket but in Test cricket, where far greater leeway is given, they are unacceptable England conceded a shameful 13 wides at Lord’s. Lewis would offer Strauss greater control but his lack of pace could be exposed in Manchester. The only surprise selection could be that of Jamie Dalrymple, the Middlesex off-spinner. Dalrymple is unlikely to oust Monty Panesar, who bowled well in Pakistan’s second innings but there is a chance of him playing if the pitch, like the current weather, is parched.

If Dalrymple makes his Test debut it would be at the expense of Plunkett, but the decision would place too much emphasis on the toss. If Strauss called correctly and batted first all would be fine. But should he lose it, and find himself with two seamers, there is every chance he could spend two days in the field. Possible England squad: A J Strauss (capt), M E Trescothick, A N Cook, K P Pietersen, P D Collingwood, I R Bell, G O Jones (wkt), L E Plunkett, M J Hoggard, S J Harmison, M S Panesar, J W M Dalrymple, S I Mahmood, J Lewis.. England’s bowling at Lord’s was disappointing but it should be better at Old Trafford.

Stephen Harmison and Matthew Hoggard had bowled only 22 first-class overs between them in the month preceding the Test, and it is to be hoped their radars have been realigned during the past week Liam Plunkett was also wayward. Sajid Mahmood and Jonathan Lewis offer alternatives to the fast bowler but neither has the potential to bat at No 8, a position Fletcher believes Plunkett can fill. Debate will continue about England’s wicketkeeper, but Geraint Jones will hold his place. He scored 34 runs in the first Test but kept well – taking five catches in the first innings – and Fletcher, his biggest supporter, is unlikely to give way to the Chris Read fan club. Ian Bell, who scored a hundred in the first Test, will retain his place in the squad.