LANCASHIRE captain Mike Watkinson can't wait for Mike Atherton to disappear on England duty - to ease his selection problems.

Watkinson admits that leaving players out is the worst part of his job and for the current championship game against Notts at Trent Bridge, he had to tell Graham Lloyd, Ian Austin and Richard Green they weren't playing.

"It was especially tough on Bumble," he said today.

"He's playing out of his skin at the moment not just in the one-dayers, but he also hit a good 50 against Leicestershire in the championship. But with everybody available we have to keep faith with the players who have done well for us in the championship in the past.

"In many ways it will be a relief when we start losing players to England so we can get everybody else in."

Austin and Green were left out yesterday because of the Trent Bridge pitch. It is a batsman's paradise and Lancashire decided to go for the extra pace of Steve Elworthy and an extra spinner in Gary Keedy.

It's hard to say who were the lucky ones as the Lancashire bowlers who were selected were condemned to a long, hard, cold day in the field as soon as Watkinson lost the toss.

Notts ground to 82 for 0 at lunch, 216 for 2 at tea and 320 for 4 at the close with Tim Robinson taking more than five hours to reach his century, Paul Johnson and Chris Cairns progressing to 340 without further problem today.

Robinson always scores runs against Lancashire. He hit 136 and 63 in the drawn championship game at Liverpool last year and added another half century in the Sunday League, and yesterday only a brilliant run out by John Crawley could prise him from the crease.

Watkinson concedes that this game is most likely to end in a draw which would leave them without a championship win until their next game against Gloucestershire at Old Trafford at the end of the month - at the wrong end of the table and way off the pace.

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