LANCASHIRE's current Championship match against Kent at Liverpool has offered a timely reminder of what a superb servant of the club Peter Martin has been.

Martin claimed his first five-wicket haul of the season in Kent's first innings, firing out the last three wickets in the space of five balls to snatch a precious 12-run lead for Lancashire.

He followed that with a display of his rarely-seen batting skills, stroking an unbeaten 80 and sharing a record-breaking ninth wicket stand with his pace partner Glen Chapple.

The performance was timely as the 33-year-old is currently enjoying his benefit year, after making his first team debut way back in 1989.

Martin's benefit brochure, an impressive glossy production which costs £5, contains a host of tributes to "Digger" as a man as well as a cricketer, but he offered further evidence of that at Aigburth yesterday - donating half of the proceeds from the bucket collection to the cancer wing at Christies hospital, rather than pocketing it all himself.

Already this season Martin has earned himself a place in the highest echelon of Lancashire bowlers by passing 500 first class wickets for the county - his 26 wickets in only nine Championship innings took his tally to 506 at the start of play today.

Only 27 other bowlers have reached the magic 500 and with another 17 in his eight Tests for England, Digger only needs another 10 to overtake the first on that list, Jack Iddon.

Former team-mates such as Paul Allott (549) and David Hughes (637) are also in his sights, although Mike Watkinson (720), Jack Simmons (985) and of course Brian Statham (top of the list with 1816) are some way off yet.

But those first class bowling statistics do not tell the whole story of Martin's contribution for Lancashire.

There is something Stathamesque about his willingness to bowl long spells for his captain, and he has relished the extra responsibility of leading the attack for the last few years since Wasim Akram left.

Then there are his one-day performances, with more than 60 wickets in 40-odd Benson and Hedges Cup ties, another 55 at a superb average of less than 20 each in the knockout competition now known as the C&G Trophy, and more than 150 in the National League, again at an excellent average and including six five-wicket hauls.

Throw in the odd batting contribution such as his career best 133 against Durham at Gateshead in 1992, sharing the best-ever last wicket stand at Old Trafford with Glen Chapple five years ago, and of course that memorable winning hit in the classic Benson and Hedges Cup semi final against Yorkshire in 1995, and it is not surprising that Martin is proving such a popular beneficiary.

The brochure also includes, courtesy of Graham Lloyd, the real story behind that long-held nickname of Digger. For the full details you'll have to buy it, but let's just say it involves a well-known soap opera and Martin's fondness for a glass of Baileys in the lunch interval.