KARL Brown is confident he will make the most of the opportunity if given a shot in Lancashire’s County Championship team this summer.

The former Atherton batsman admits things have not gone the way he would have hoped in recent seasons against the red ball.

But, following a big pre-season hundred in Dubai last month at the end of a productive winter, the 29-year-old is hopeful of a successful step up in the near future.

“I’ve been in and out of the Championship side for the last few years, and I’ve not been quite as consistent in first-class cricket. But it’s something I feel like I would put right given the opportunity,” he said.

“The lads did well in the Championship last year and deserve first crack. It’s up to me to force my way in.

“It was nice to get a big score in Dubai, and I feel like I’m playing really well. Hopefully I can back that up with some more scores here.”

Brown, in the final year of his contract at Emirates Old Trafford, *** started the summer in the second team this week when Lancashire hosted Yorkshire in a three-day friendly at Old Trafford which began on Tuesday.

A second Boltonian, Matthew Parkinson, is also playing, but a third, Josh Bohannon, did not feature as he continues his recovery from a side injury.

Brown did not play a Championship match in 2017, but he did contribute to a second-team three-day title success, captaining them in four matches.

He knows his task of breaking into the Championship team will not be easy, however, given the strength of the batting unit.

“I think it is the strongest batting line-up we’ve had for some time,” he continued. “We have a lot of good players in the squad and a lot of players playing well, as you’ve seen throughout pre-season.

“There’s big competition for places throughout the squad, and it’s healthy to have. You have lads pushing each other – it should bring the best out of every player. I can only see that as a positive.

“After a second-placed finish last year, we can really look to push on. A club as big as Lancs have got to look at winning the Championship every year. There’s no reason why we can’t.”

The majority of Brown’s recent first-team action has come in 50-over and Twenty20 cricket, and he is exciting to watch.

“In one-day cricket, I feel like my form’s been good throughout my career,” he said.

As a team, improvement is needed following last year’s two group-stage exits.

“In 50-over cricket, we’ve let ourselves down in recent times,” he added.

“We should have done a lot better (only two semi-final appearances since reaching the C&G final in 2006). That’s something we’re looking to put right this year.

“T20 cricket, we won it in 2015 and have gone close a few other times. But we’ve not taken that form into the 50-over stuff.”