CRICKET: Lawson getting back to his best; Windies ace has England in his sights.

Byline: MYLES HODGSON

WEST Indies bowler Jermaine Lawson believes he is regaining full pace and feels ``confident and ready to go'' for the forthcoming Test series with England.

The 22-year-old has had to endure a difficult 12 months after claiming a hat-trick against Australia in the third Test in Barbados in 2003.

Lawson's bowling action came under scrutiny and was reported to the ICC after that series but attempts to modify it were delayed as he was hit by a series of injuries.

Now Lawson feels he is starting to turn the corner after an injury to Fidel Edwards meant he was called up for the recent Nat West Series with England and New Zealand.

And he recovered from a shaky opening spell to outshine fellow pace man Edwards and Pedro Collins when in action against the MCC at Arundel yesterday.

Lawson may have taken only two wickets but his victims were top-scorer Sven Koenig (79) and the in-form Graham Thorpe (32).

Lawson said: ``I feel okay running in and in the longer version of the game you can relax more. You've got more time to do what you want to do with the ball.

``In a one-day situation you are under pressure all of the time and you have to be thinking right through the game.

``In a three-day game like this, or a Test series, you have more time to relax and regroup again.

``I feel I'm getting there with my pace as well. I've been trying to push my speed.

I really felt good today.

``Everything was coming back and I felt I was probably touching 90 miles an hour with certain deliveries.

``I am looking forward to great things.

I feel very confident going into the Test series. With this game and the one-dayers, I've been getting that confidence back and am ready to go. ''

Lawson believes that he can adapt successfully to English conditions where sometimes moving the ball around is more effective than raw pace.

He said: ``Once you get the ball in the right areas, it should just do the rest for you. That is the most important thing.

``In the first spell I struggled to do that. Fidel (Edwards) was going for some runs and I was trying too much to keep it tight rather than relax and do what I know I want to do.

``In the second spell, I did just that.

I bowled the right line and length. It has been a long time since I played a three-day game and to get two wickets at just over three runs an over was pleasing. ''

TODAY (17. 30 unless stated) Twenty20 Cup North Div (1 day) Derby: Derbyshire Scorpions v Leicestershire Foxes. Riverside: Durham Dynamos v Yorkshire Phoenix (18. 00). Old Trafford: Lancashire Lightning v Nottinghamshire Outlaws. Twenty20 Cup Mid/West/Wales Div (1 day) Bristol: Gloucestershire Gladiators v Warwickshire Bears. Taunton: Somerset Sabres v Northamptonshire Steelbacks. New Road: Worcestershire Royals v Glamorgan Dragons. Twenty20 Cup South Div (1 day) Chelmsford: Essex Eagles v Sussex Sharks (19. 30). Lord's: Middlesex Crusaders v Surrey Lions. The Rose Bowl: Hampshire Hawks v Kent Spitfires.

Tour Match (day 3 of 3) Arundel: MCC v West Indies (10. 45)SUMMARIES: Twenty20 Cup North Div: Headingley: Lancashire Lightning 168 (A Flintoff 85) v Yorkshire Phoenix 170-2. Yorkshire beat Lancashire by 8 wkts. Twenty20 Cup Mid/West/Wales Div: Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan Dragons 162-7 Innings Complete v Gloucestershire Gladiators 130. Glamorgan beat Gloucestershire by 32 runs. Tour Match: Canterbury: Kent 188-8 Innings Complete v Sri Lanka A 190-6. Sri Lanka A beat Kent by 4 wkts. Arundel: West Indies 380 (DS Smith 142, BC Lara 113, MJ Hoggard 4-32) & 115-5 v MCC 260 (SG Koenig 79)

CAPTION(S):

Glamorgan wicket-keeper Mark Wallace appeals for lbw yesterday at Sophia Gardens