IAN Austin has raked in a £155,000 jackpot from his testimonial season last year.

It places him fifth in the list of Lancashire beneficiaries behind Mike Atherton (£307,000), Mike Watkinson (£209,000), Neil Fairbrother (£206,000) and Warren Hegg (£178,000).

And it's a tribute to an all-rounder who possesses one of the outstanding records in one-day cricket with six winning appearances in Lord's Cup Finals, three National League triumphs and a belated call-up to the England side.

"The fans have been great and I'd like to pay them a big thank-you," said Austin today.

Yet he remains mystified as to why Lancashire have given him only a one year contract to play limited overs cricket, leaving him out of their plans for the championship.

"The club have their view and I have mine," he said. "The encouraging thing is that if I'm playing only the one-day stuff I should be able to go on for another three or four years. Obviously that would be up to Lancashire and no doubt they will be waiting to see how I perform."

Austin's career has gone full circle. After making his debut in 1987 he first won recognition as a one-day 'specialist' and, although he went on to play consistently well in championship cricket over the years, he now finds himself labelled officially as a one-day player.

Despite the jokes over his physique, the burly Austin had a fitness record second to none until he encountered knee problems two years ago.

He lost his championship place and Lancashire have since added Joe Scuderi and John Wood to their seam department, as well as signing up a couple of young pacemen.