LANCASHIRE skipper Jasmine Titmuss hopes Burnley wicketkeeper Hannah Till will be fit for action when the Red Rose women aim to keep their promotion bid on track in their derby showdown with Cheshire on Sunday.

The 17-year-old talent is close to a return to the side after an ankle injury suffered while playing football and Titmuss confirmed she will take on glove duties for the game at Old Xaverians should she pass a fitness test.

Table-topping Lancashire have three wins and one abandonment from their four games to date as they aim for promotion into Division One of the ECB Women’s County Championship and Titmuss is desperate to see her troops keep up the good work at the start of a busy few weeks.

“The Cheshire game is a big one for us because it’s our derby and they are always good ones,” said Titmuss.

“There is a bit extra in any match with Cheshire because a few of our girls play in the Cheshire Women’s League and a few of theirs play in and around Lancashire.

“And their skipper Jen Dunn was the captain of the England Academy when Kate Cross and myself were in there.

“So it’s a big game – but it’s a game we have to look at winning because we have the big one with Devon a week later.

“If we both can go into that one unbeaten it will be a huge game and one that could go a long way to sorting out who comes top and wins promotion.

“So I think I will have to try and wrap all the girls in cotton wool to make sure we don’t get any injuries before that one.”

There has also been an off-field boost for Lancashire after Myerscough College, who have a base in Blackburn’s Witton Park, became principal shirt sponsors for the season.

And that deal delights Titmuss as she looks to try and develop the women’s game across the county.

“The support from Myerscough is vital,” she said.

“It shows locally people are supporting the women’s game and recognising the game is making huge steps forward.

“Through the sponsorship the college hope more female players will sign up to their cricket courses in the future because they have not had that many going through in the past.

“And it is also good for the squad because we can use their facilities.”