LANCASHIRE’S Karl Brown is hoping the stability of earning a three-year contract at the club can bring out the best in his batting.

Towards the back end of last season, Bolton-born Brown was handed a new deal by cricket director and head coach Ashley Giles as reward for his excellent form against both the red and white ball.

Brown has been an impressive performer in one-day and Twenty20 cricket for a number of years now.

But his lack of runs in the Championship put a question mark over his long-term future at the club, with him having to make do with a series of one or two-year deals.

Thankfully, a haul of 756 runs from 12 Championship matches as an opening batsman last summer, including one hundred and seven fifties, have put such questions to bed and eased his mind.

“It’s just really nice to be able to concentrate on cricket and not worry about things off the field,” he said.

“I think that’s a big thing for me. I’ve been able to get my head down and work on my game. I feel like it’s helped me a lot. I feel like I’ve improved, and I can’t wait for the season to start now.

“Sometimes it’s difficult, and it can be hard not to think of other things.

“It’s one of those things you’ve got to cope with. You can’t always have a long-term contract, but you’ve still got to work hard and perform as best as you can.

“Last year was a good year in the Championship and one I really needed. I’m looking to kick on from that and also maintain that form in one-day cricket.

“I feel really good at the moment. I’ve felt good in the nets, and I’m confident I can kick on from last year and take that form into this season.”

Brown toured Dubai last month with his Lancashire team-mates, where they spent a fortnight on their pre-season training camp.

The 27-year-old even captained the county in their two-day friendly against Yorkshire with full-time skipper Steven Croft absent on paternity leave.

“It’s nice that the club and Ashley have got confidence in me to offer me the captaincy, even though it was only for a pre-season game,” he added.

“They feel like I’m capable of doing it, and it’s something I’d like to do more of at some point in the future.”