DAVID BYAS will make an 11th hour bid to boost Lancashire as they return to Championship action against Kent in Liverpool tomorrow.

The former Yorkshire skipper, who has been out since breaking his knuckle on May 24, will see a specialist at 8.30am.

And if he is given the all-clear, he will come straight back into the Lancashire team.

That would be a timely lift as Lancashire's season has gone to pieces since Byas suffered his injury in the C&G Trophy victory over Derbyshire at Old Trafford.

That followed his match-winning innings at Leicester to take them to the Benson and Hedges Cup semi-final.

But without Byas they have lost five one-day matches on the trot, going out of both one-day knockout competitions with defeats by Warwickshire at Old Trafford and Essex at Chelmsford.

And in their only Championship game in the last month, only the rain saved Lancashire against Surrey at Old Trafford.

Byas would return at number three to give Lancashire a much more solid-looking batting line-up with Stuart Law at four and Neil Fairbrother at five.

Manager Mike Watkinson said: "It seems a long time since we played a Championship match and the lads are really looking forward to it.

"We have had a bad spell in one-day cricket but there's no good moping about it. We can make up for lost ground in the Championship and we will keep a smile on our faces."

Kent have been in much better form and beat the Indian tourists in Canterbury yesterday, but as ever much will depend on the Aigburth pitch which usually favours the batsmen.