MOST people approaching their 21st birthday would be planning to party with a group of friends.

But Lancashire all-rounder Tom Smith is hoping to celebrate his coming of age with 100,000 friends at the MCG!

The Withnell Fold lad turns 21 on the first day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and he's dreaming of being part of Andrew Flintoff's side.

And for Smith, who jetted out earlier this week to Perth with the national academy squad, thoughts of him striding out at the MCG aren't that far fetched.

Burnley seamer Jimmy Anderson was drafted into England's VB Series side in 2002 after a spell at the academy.

And it's a dream Smith is happy to keep alive.

"It wouldn't be the worst 21st birthday present!" he said. "Stood out in front of 100,000 at the MCG on my 21st birthday. I think I'd settle for that.

"You just have that little bit of hope. We're the shadow squad for the Ashes so one injury and you could be in. Jimmy was at the academy and got drafted into the England team, so it can happen."

But even dreaming of being England's 12th man Down Under shows how far the affable Smith has come in such a short time.

At the start of the English summer, he was a virtual unknown. But after a great first season for Lancashire, which saw Smith take 35 first class wickets, he was heralded as a future England player by Red Rose skipper Mark Chilton.

His inclusion in the 14-man academy squad is proof, if any were needed, that Smith has the potential to be a star.

And the former Chorley pro is looking forward to working at one of the world's finest facilities.

"I've been told it's a great place to go and play cricket," he said.

"The facilities in Perth are top notch and just the overall experience is going to be great. We'll be living in self-catering apartments on the beach so it won't just be a good cricket experience but a good life experience as well."

And Smith has certainly learned quickly in his debut season.

He said: "I think I had a pretty good season to be fair. It was unfortunate that we finished runner-up in the County Championship and in the C&G Trophy final but other than that it was a pretty successful season.

"I knew I had to put a marker down for the season after I was told I was playing in that first game and fortunately I did that."

And his first Championship wicket was particularly satisfying - that of former Lancashire skipper John Crawley.

"That will stay in the memory banks for a while," he admitted.

"I remember him smacking my first ball for four and I thought It's going to be a long day' but fortunately, a couple of overs later, I got it in the right area, it nipped back and he played on.

"I just couldn't wait until I took my first wicket. Sometimes, you can bowl for a couple of spells and not get a wicket and it can start to get to you. But, thankfully for me, I managed to get a wicket in my first spell. And then I came back later on and got another two.

"I took confidence from that game and took it into the rest of the season and I think it showed in the cricket I played. Everyone played well in that first game and that applied for most of the season."

With the quality of the overseas stars in the County Championship, it proved to be a real test for the young all-rounder.

And he picked out two genuine legends as his pick of opponents - leg spinners Shane Warne and Mushtaq Ahmed.

"When you grow up watching cricket, everyone knows who Shane Warne is and it was an honour to play against him, " he said.

"On the field, you try and play the ball and not the person. If you play the person they're more likely to get you out, so I just tried to ignore who it was.

"But he wasn't short of a word and I just smiled and said thanks. I just thought: "Wow, It's an honour to be sledged by you!

"Playing against Mushtaq was interesting," he said. "I didn't quite pick him but I don't think I'm the only one!

"To face him was awesome, but I just wish I'd done a little bit better. But it was a good experience and hopefully, come next year, I'll be a bit more accomplished.

And it's his batting that Smith has targeted for real improvement next season after managing just 234 runs.

But he admitted that he found it difficult to bat down the order after years opening the batting.

He added: "My lack of runs had started to get to me. I'm in the team for batting and bowling and having not really done myself justice, it was becoming harder.

"I finally came to terms with my batting in the last game when I got 49 against Hampshire. In the last few games of the season, I'd done alright and to get so close to a half-century was good but I was so disappointed to get out. I got a few starts but managed to find ways to get myself out.

"When you open the batting, as I have in the past, you can focus from the off.

"When you come in down the order, you try and concentrate on every ball and you don't switch off. By the time you go in to bat you're mentally knackered, so you have to learn to switch off and switch back on again.

"You can either be batting in half an hour or you might not bat for two days. Then it's just about finding a balance.

"If I'm able to take the next step in the Test arena, then I'll have to deal with that."

And that next step could come as an unexpected birthday present.