ICE COOL Gary Keedy gave Lancashire the perfect start to the season in an Old Trafford thriller yesterday.

They seemed to have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by losing three wickets for six runs on the brink of their highest fourth innings total since the war.

But Keedy, who has played a few handy innings for Lancashire over the last couple of years, kept his composure to hit a full toss from Devon Malcolm through mid off for four, then worked the next ball off his hip for the two runs needed for victory.

It was greeted as though Lancashire had won the Championship rather than beaten a Leicestershire team expected to struggle against relegation.

After such a tough winter, the 1,000 or so diehards had cheered every run and grimaced at every wicket, knowing that defeat would have provided more ammunition for the critics who are willing Lancashire to drop into the Second Division.

"It was heart monitor stuff," admitted new skipper Warren Hegg. "But I'm so pleased we showed that bit of steel which we've lacked in the last two years."

"To score 388 on a fourth day pitch was a massive ask," added cricket manager Mike Watkinson.

"It kept swinging to and fro, and whenever we thought we could relax someone would be out and we were on edge again.

"It's great to have the points on the board after the first game, and it's good not only that we've won but the manner in which we've done it.

"We never laid down at any stage of the game."

Lancashire made a bad start yesterday, as Phil DeFreitas fired out Mark Chilton and David Byas early on to leave them 150 for three.

But Stuart Law and Graham Lloyd then linked up in a stand of 137 in 31 overs which put them back on course in their record victory bid.

Law made 69 from 119 balls with 11 stylish boundaries, a good early sign that he has brought his prolific Essex form to the north west, while Lloyd followed his first innings 51 with a crucial 73 - quite a contrast to last

season, when he only managed a total of 19 runs from four Championship innings.

Then came another swing as both Law and Lloyd went to Leicester skipper Vince Wells to leave Lancashire on 288 for five - still 100 runs short.

Glen Chapple joined Hegg to steady the nerves with a quick 38 in a sixth wicket stand of 63, but Malcolm returned with the second new ball to send them both back to the pavilion and put the game back in the melting pot.

Peter Martin only lasted two balls and nerves were really jangling at 377 for eight.

For a while it looked as though Kyle Hogg was going to follow his five wickets with the ball, the best performance by a Lancashire debutant since Ken Higgs in 1958, by completing the win with the bat.

But on 11, he steered Horwich-born seamer Charlie Dagnall to gully, bringing out last man Mike Smethurst to join Keedy.

Somehow Smethurst survived the rest of the over and Keedy did the rest, to send Lancashire down to Edgbaston today for the game against Warwickshire starting tomorrow on top of the world - and second, behind Surrey, in the First Division table.