CHRIS Schofield returns for Lancashire at bogey ground Derby tomorrow.

The 20-year-old leg spinner is recalled to the side for the Championship game against Derbyshire and could bat as high as number six in the order.

Schofield took eight wickets in his last appearance against Glamorgan at Blackpool, but missed the last game against Hampshire at Southampton as Lancashire played four seamers on a green pitch.

Derby traditionally favours the seamers but with Mike Atherton missing on Test duty, Lancashire can go into the game with three specialist seamers and all rounder Andy Flintoff as well as Schofield and Muttiah Muralitharan .

Ian Austin is out with a recurrence of his knee problems so Mike Smethurst and Richard Green are fighting it out to support Glen Chapple and Peter Martin.

It will be Murali's last Championship appearance for Lancashire as he aims to improve on his tally of 55 wickets from 10 innings so far. And Lancashire need another win. Despite victories over Essex, Glamorgan and Hampshire in their last three matches, they are still in the wrong half of the Championship table and in danger of relegation to the Second Division next season.

But even in 13th, they are only 17 points behind third placed Hampshire.

On their last two Championship visits to the Racecourse Ground, in 1995 and 1997, Lancashire have subsided to miserable innings defeats.

Lancashire: Chilton, Crawley, Fairbrother, Flintoff, LLoyd, Schofield, Hegg, Martin, Chapple, Muralitharan, Green or Smethurst.

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