Mahmood was part of the recent England Lions twenty20 side

Pace bowler Sajid Mahmood is eager to face some of the international stars signed up for the 2010 FP t20.

The Lancashire and England man has already taken 27 wickets in Championship and Clydesdale Bank 40 games this season.

He told BBC Radio Manchester: "It's good because the players in the sides now are world class.

"You've got Andrew Symonds and Herschelle Gibbs among others who are playing Twenty20 cricket this season."

He added: "To have people like that batting and bowling against you, it really puts you to the test.

"It also gives you a gauge of where you are with your game I suppose and I think it's a pretty good challenge."

The Red Rose county are in the Northern half of the draw along with eight other sides: Durham, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Northamptonshire.

"It's quite nice to have a block of Twenty20 games coming all together so we can probably be more in the training, it can be more specific," Mahmood continued.

"As a bowler, your variation is obviously totally different to the Championship games.

"Your areas are different. You bowl a lot more variations and your tactics and field settings are totally different.

"Obviously Twenty20 is all go so it's quite exciting really because you've got to actually nail your skills down so it gives you something to focus on in training.

"If you don't nail your skills down, in training or in a game, you're going to go a distance."

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