JON Lewis is determined to make the most' of his latest England chance, writes ANDY CRYER.

Speaking ahead of this morning's squad announcement for today's First Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's, Lewis refused to get his England hopes up but claims he is ready to take his chance with both hands.

Lewis has been in three previous test squads, before being cut at the final hurdle, but a scorching start to this season has once again put him back in the frame.

The 30-year-old former Churchfields School student, pictured right, joined up with the squad on Monday but he has already got a plan B lined up if disappointment strikes again.

He said: "If I don't get selected then I am hoping to be able to get back to Gloucestershire for their county championship match against Northamptonshire.

"I am pretty chilled out about things as I have been here before and got really disappointed.

"Because of that I am not going to get my hopes up too much this time.

"Practice in the nets has gone well but to be honest there has not been much I could do about it.

"The selectors know what I am capable of and it will be up to them to study the wicket and see if they think I am right for the match. The key is if I do get that chance to make sure I do everything possible to make it very hard for them to drop me next time."

Lewis, who played three one-day internationals last summer, is in prime form having bagged nine wickets for England A against Sri Lanka last weekend.

He said: "I didn't expect to get a chance in the Test squad again but a few injuries to some of the bowlers has given me that chance.

"I am not dreaming of Ashes appearances or anything like that at the moment. All I can do is take it one step at a time and see what happens."

  • Ian Harvey and Carl Greenidge took three wickets each as Gloucestershire dismissed Northamptonshire for 219 on the first day of the ir Division Two match. But Gloucestershire fared little better when they batted, as two wickets for Matt Nicholson and one each for Lance Klusener and Jason Brown reduced the home side to 70-4.
  • Collated scores Liverpool Victoria County Championship Division One: Riverside, Durham 340-9 (J P Maher 106, P Mustard 78, C E W Silverwood 4-85) v Middlesex; Canterbury, Yorkshire 312-5 (D S Lehmann 176 no, C White 79) v Kent Hove Sussex 143 & 111-3 (C D Hopkinson 55 no) v Nottinghamshire 229 (M A Ealham 52, Mushtaq Ahmed 6-72); Edgbaston, Hampshire 405 (M A Carberry 102, J P Crawley 96, N Pothas 67 no, A G R Loudon 5-109, D R Brown 4-97) v Warwickshire 160-5 (J O Troughton 75 no). Liverpool Victoria County Championship Division Two: Bristol, Northamptonshire 219 v Gloucestershire 70-4; Taunton, Somerset 312-6 (K A Parsons 78 no, J C Hildreth 57) v Essex; New Road, Derbyshire 338 (G Welch 94, D J Pipe 57, M J Di Venuto 56, Z Khan 6-60) v Worcestershire 2-0; Grace Road, Leicestershire 525 (D Mongia 161, J L Sadler 77, J K Maunders 71, P A Nixon 70 no) v Glamorgan 90-2.