SWINDON seamer Jon Lewis is hoping Gloucestershire's elevation to the top flight of the Frizzell County Championship will mean the eyes of the England selectors are focussed on him a lot more this season.

Lewis the leading English wicket-taker in 2003 was helping his county to get their campaign under way today, with Kent the visitors to Bristol for the opening championship clash.

Gloucestershire for so long English county cricket's one-day specialists showed their prowess at the four-day game last season as they won promotion from Division Two.

And Lewis feels the higher standard can only help him fulfil his dreams of representing his country.

Having wintered well by playing top-grade cricket in a player-coach capacity in Sydney a trip he returned from three weeks ago he is back and ready to remind the powers that be of his abilities.

"I bowled really well over there and I've been doing some work on my batting as well,'' insisted Lewis.

"My ambition has always been to play for England and I want to play well and hope that the selectors are watching.''

That task has probably been made harder by England's series success in the Caribbean but Lewis is refusing to give up.

"It's hard to get into a winning team and, if you look at last season, I suppose there is not a lot more I can do,'' he admitted.

"But perhaps playing at the higher level might be beneficial. The wickets are flatter and better, and for a seamer to do well in that situation would show he's improved.''

County commitments are Lewis's first assignment though and he believes Gloucestershire are proving themselves as the all-round package.

"Four-day cricket makes up most of the time we play and I think we showed last season that, rather than just a one-day side, we can play well in the longer game too,'' he said.

"Although we only won one competition last season, I think it was probably our best year in some respects.

"I really like the look of our squad. Everybody has worked hard in the off-season and they are really up for it.''

Gloucestershire handed a debut to pace bowler Alastair Brassington as they begin life in Division One this morning.

Chris Taylor captains the side for the first time but veteran seamer Mike Smith was left out after spending the winter struggling to recover from a back problem.

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

Third Test Match, Rawalpindi: Pakistan 224 (L Balaji 4-63) & 49-2, India 600 (R Dravid 270, S C Ganguly 77, V V S Laxman 71, P A Patel 69)

TODAY'S FIXTURES

Third Test Match (day 4 of 5) Rawalpindi: Pakistan v India.

Frizzell County Championship Division One (day 1 of 4): (S) Northampton: Northamptonshire v Lancashire (S) The Brit Oval: Surrey v Sussex (S) Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Middlesex (S) Bristol: Gloucestershire v Kent.

Division Two (day 1 of 4): (S) Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan v Derbyshire (S) The Rose Bowl: Hampshire v Durham.

Other Match (day 1 of 3): (S) The Parks: Oxford UCCE v Nottinghamshire.

Tour Match (1 day) Guyana: Guyana v England (15.35)

(S) indicates Sunday play