LANCASHIRE captain Glen Chapple has praised both the atmosphere and the wicket atŠLiverpool as he prepares to lead his side out in this morning’s four-day LV County Championship match against Hampshire.

The Red Rose side go into today’s game needing to bounce back after last week’sŠ138-run defeat at Durham, and Chapple is more than content with the surroundings at Aigburth.

“We like coming back to Liverpool especially if we get good weather,” he said. “We get a real good atmosphere and the local crowd get a chance to come down where they might not travel to Old Trafford. On top of that, there’s usually a result here.

“It always feels as though there are more people in the ground than there actuallyŠ are. It just helps keep you going in the field and the game flies by.

“We’re happy with the wicket,” he added. “It’s different to last year because it’s been drier, but hopefully there’ll be a bit of pace and carry.”

Lancashire are in third place in the Division One table going into today’s game and the Old Trafford side haven’t lost to the south coast team since 1992.

Chapple’s men have also made an excellent start to their one-day season and top their group going into Monday’s sell-out Twenty20 game against Leicestershire.

“We’ve made a solid start in the County Championship and we’re right in the hunt for that although it’s still early days,” said Chapple. “It looks like it’s going to be a real good fight this year.

“We’ve also gone really well in the one-day the two one-day competitions and we couldn’t have asked for more. We got on a roll early in the season, especially in the Twenty20Šgames.

“We became confident that we were a good team and the way the lads have played in the one-day games has been really focused and disciplined.”

Inevitably, given that the Ashes begin in exactly three weeks’ time, the performance of Andrew Flintoff will attract much of the attention at Aigburth, but the game also features the return of the Indian Test batsman VVS Laxman, who has replaced Ashwell Prince as Lancashire’s overseas player.

However, Liverpool-born Tom Smith has been ruled out for about four weeks with a torn intercostal muscle, the first serious injury to hit the Old Trafford squad for over a month.

“We thought at the start of the season that every member of the squad was realistically challenging for a place and that everyone would play some part inŠ the season,” said Chapple.

“As I see it, we’ve used fewer players than I thought we would.”

Lancashire also play Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy semi-final at Old Trafford on July 5ŠandŠChapple is keen that his players keep challenging on all fronts.

Š”We’re a reasonably young side and a big club,” he said. “Our members rightly expect that we focus on all competitions.”

Play today is due to start at 11am.

LANCASHIRE SQUAD: Loye, Horton, Laxman, du Plessis, Chilton, Croft, Flintoff, Sutton (wkt), Chapple (cpt), Hogg, Mahmood, Newby, Keedy.