DURHAM coach Martyn Moxon insisted yesterday it is time to consider allowing substitutes to do more than merely field in cricket.

With play on the third day of the match against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl washed out, Moxon also wrote off any hope of seeing Dewald Pretorius bowl again in his remaining eight days with the county.

"He would have to be 100 per cent," he said. "I wouldn't pressurise him into bowling with a Test series coming up."

When the South African paceman limped off with a hamstring strain after bowling four overs on the first morning it was his second leg injury in a month, proving that it is not only the English who break down.

"He does all his stretching and is very conscientious about getting ready to bowl," said Moxon, who can now only shake his head in disbelief at Durham's list of injuries over the last 14 months.

"We ask ourselves what we can do to avoid them," he says. "But you can't legislate for people breaking a finger at slip or falling down in his delivery stride and dislocating a shoulder.

"In the last few games we have been seriously handicapped through no fault of our own.

"In every other sport if someone gets injured you can have a substitute. It doesn't happen in cricket because it has always been felt it would be open to abuse.

"If someone was having a bad game he could suddenly develop a muscle injury and you couldn't be sure whether he was faking it or not.

"But if someone breaks a bone or dislocates a shoulder then why shouldn't we have a substitute? It's hard enough playing the game with 11 men, never mind ten."

Pretorius' injury meant that 18-year-old Liam Plunkett had to bowl 28 overs in Hampshire's first innings and occasional bowler Gordon Muchall sent down 18 overs.

"The directives from the ECB say that someone Liam's age should bowl nor more than six or seven-over spells and no more than three spells a day," said Moxon.

"We have to look after them, but the injury here threw more weight on to Liam."

Durham have seamer Mark Davies in their squad at Southampton, but because he was named as 12th man on the first day he is not allowed to bowl.

Yet new regulations now allow a substitute to play a full part on the first day of a county match if he is filling in for someone who is subsequently released from Test duty.

Hence former Yorkshire left-armer Paul Hutchison was able to score 18 and bowl five overs for Sussex against Kent before James Kirtley travelled back from Chester-le-Street to take over.

Durham are not the only county to suffer. Hutchison, very highly rated as an England Under-19 bowler, has hardly played for three years and after all their problems with Darren Gough, Yorkshire are now without Matthew Hoggard, Ryan Sidebottom and Craig White.

Other England players injured are Andrew Caddick and Andy Flintoff, who is unable to bowl because of a shoulder complaint.

Former Durham paceman Melvyn Betts, who has yet to get through a season without injury, suffered a groin strain after bowling four overs for Warwickshire against Nottinghamshire on Thursday.

Durham's astonishing catalogue of injuries dates back to before last season.

Danny Law missed the start with a back injury and in the first match Simon Brown suffered a side strain and Nicky Phillips broke a finger.

In the next game Jimmy Daley suffered the seventh broken finger of his career and neither he nor Brown were seen in the first team again.

Stephen Harmison, who had returned early from England Academy duties with a shoulder injury, was out for six weeks with the same problem as Brown, while Paul Collingwood had knee and neck injuries.

Martin Love broke a finger on June 12 and didn't play again, his replacement Brad Hodge broke his thumb in the nets five days after arriving, and skipper Jon Lewis missed the last six games after a groin operation.

This season began with Mark Davies's lung collapsing and Collingwood dislocating his shoulder and suffering cartilage damage in a one-day friendly at Old Trafford. Collingwood will not play before August, having made only five championship appearances since the 2001 season.

Those injured since are Love, Pretorius (twice), Nicky Hatch, Nicky Peng, Vince Wells, Ian Pattison and Liam Plunkett. And Chris Mann has had virtually no cricket since being given a full contract two years ago.

Read more about Durham County Cricket Club here.