LANCASHIRE made their Easter cricketing debut today in need of some kind of miracle to reach the Benson and Hedges Cup quarter-finals.

Last week's defeat by Derbyshire has left them third in the Northern Division and level on points with no fewer than eight other counties scrapping for the two "fastest loser" positions in the last eight.

But coach Bob Simpson remained confident that victory over Leicestershire would be enough.

"It is complicated but we reckon another win will be enough for us to get through," said Simpson. Lancashire could even finish in the top two of the group, and gain automatic qualifcation, if they beat Leicester and Notts beat Yorkshire at Trent Bridge.

However, as Notts have the worse record in the competition, with three losses and a washout in four matches, that seemed like a long shot.

So Lancashire's best bet was to beat Leicester by a convincing margin and therefore give their run rate another boost, while wins for Kent against Middlesex, Warwickshire against Worcestershire and Somerset against Gloucestershire would also strengthen their position.

Reverend Malcolm Lorimer, Lancashire's official statistician and chaplain and therefore a man well-qualified to comment, believed it was the first time the club have ever played on Easter Monday -- a holiday usually reserved for football and rugby league.

"The season has never started this early before and Easter is very rarely this late," he explained.

But Lancashire could have no complaints about the early start as they are the only county to have managed positive results in each of their first four matches -- while poor Middlesex had still to bowl a ball ahead of today's trip to Kent.

Lancashire had Glen Chapple, who was rested at Derby with a side strain, back in their squad today with coach Simpson demanding a big improvement from the bowlers and fielders.