LANCASHIRE will be without skipper Tom Smith for the trip to Northamptonshire which starts on Sunday as they bid to make it three wins from three in the LV County Championship.

Chorley’s Smith missed the win over Kent which saw the Red Rose go top of the table and he will not recover from the back injury in time for the match at Lancashire head coach Ashley Giles admits confidence is high at Old Trafford after an impressive campaign to the division two season.

He said: “It is a great start with two wins that were very different on very different pitches.

“We have done a lot of stuff we have talked about doing, both individually and as a team. It is the best possible start we could have hoped for.

“It was a fantastic win. It was a really hard-fought four days of cricket.

“The way we stuck at it, to stick them back in and the bowlers stick at it the way they did -particulary the big seamers – it is all credit to them.

“The bottom line is we are top of the league”

Meanwhile, Lancashire have moved back the start times for their Championship match with Leicestershire in June in a bid to attract more fans to the club.

Instead of starting at 11am, play will begin at 12.30pm and continue until 7.30pm.

Entry will be £5 for adults and £1 for children after 4pm. Tickets will cost £15 in advance.