A HAT-TRICK of Lancashire victories has brought a smile back to Old Trafford.

Two wins in two days in the Twenty20 and a thrilling one-run victory in the National League on Sunday has given Lancashire something to aim for after a horror run of form that saw them go winless for 10 games.

But the best sides can bounce back and the team has shown some real fighting qualities over the last week. They now have the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 in their sights and are looking to reignite their National League challenge.

It is no coincidence that the improvement in form has come with the return of some key players from injury and international duty. Carl Hooper has had a key role in his two games back, while Jimmy Anderson and Sajid Mahmood have boosted the pace attack.

Although Anderson is likely to disappear again with England when the tests with West Indies start, that is compensated for by Glen Chapple also coming back after his serious head injury and will be looking to make up for lost time in his benefit season.

Mahmood is unlikely to be called up for the West Indies series so, once Peter Martin's knee is fully recovered, the pace bowling stocks will again be well resourced and should take some of the pressure off Dominic Cork and the young bowlers who have had to shoulder a big workload in recent weeks.

Lancashire also have the boost of Andrew Flintoff being available for the last two qualifying Twenty20 games. Flintoff has yet to play Twenty20 but he has the potential to destroy bowling attacks and the boundaries are unlikely to be big enough to stop him.