LANCASHIRE today handed Paddy McKeown the perfect early birthday present -- a first team call-up.

McKeown, who is 24 tomorrow, was given his first chance of the season in the Championship game against Derbyshire at Old Trafford as international calls bit deep into the Lancashire squad.

Sourav Ganguly is playing for India in Bangladesh and Mike Atherton, Andy Flintoff and Chris Schofield have all joined the England team in Nottingham preparing for tomorrow's Second Test against Zimbabwe.

"This is the chance I've been working towards, and now I've got to take it," said McKeown.

"It's been a bit of a frustrating start to the season with all the rain, but I've felt in good form for the seconds and also at the weekends with Bramhall."

Gary Yates also came in for his first Championship appearance of the season with Lancashire going into the game with two spinners.

nRICHARD Green continued his impressive form for Lancashire's second team on the first day of their Championship match against Derbyshire at Dunstall. The 24-year-old seamer followed up four wickets against Middlesex at Blackpool last week with five for 42 to lift a Lancashire side badly weakened by first team call-ups.

Derbyshire were skittled out for 190 and Lancashire resumed today on 51 for two in reply.

nWEST Indies captain Jimmy Adams stressed that his team travel to England a more confident group following their series-clinching, one-wicket win over Pakistan in Antigua.

The 16-man squad departed from Barbados for a three-month, five-Test tour of England.

"We step on the plane a more confident team," said Adams, whose unbeaten 48 steered the home team to a thrilling victory. "The team is looking forward to another challenge as opposed to if things hadn't gone our way."

Adams and his most experienced player, fast bowler Courtney Walsh, put on 19 runs for the last wicket on Monday to seal a tense victory.

"If we'd lost, then you're talking about really doing a lot of work psychologically to get things together for the England series," Adams said. "So the win was very important. It has been a fillip for the whole group."