LANCASHIRE face a tough opening to the 2003 season when they face Frizzell county champions Surrey in their first fixture.

Adam Hollioake's team ran away with the title this year and had the silverware safely wrapped up with two full rounds of matches remaining.

Once more the fixture list has thrown up an awkward early test of Surrey's credentials to steamroller their way through the season and Lancs' manager Mike Watkinson will be hoping his improving side can provide a stern test.

But even Surrey will be stopped in their tracks when the ECB's new Twenty20 Cup' competition rudely interrupts the first-class schedule in mid-June.

Much is riding on the new one-day format's capacity to attract young and old to a version of the game which is played midweek up and down the country in club cricket but has never before been offered up as a county crowd-puller.

The ECB must hope a start date of Friday June 13 does not turn out to be a bad omen and that Twenty20' finds favour in the public eye.