ONLY Stephen Harmison is fit to return from Durham's nine-man casualty list for today's Benson & Hedges Cup tie against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

After suffering from a sore elbow joint, Harmison is likely to return in place of Mark Davies, who was taken ill during Thursday's heavy defeat by Yorkshire.

"Mark had a good night's sleep and feels a lot better, so it looks like a viral infection," said physio Nigel Kent. "Hopefully he'll be fit to play on Monday.

"We were quite concerned about him at first and I could hardly believe it. It has just been one thing after another."

The long-term injuries are to Simon Brown and all-rounder Chris Mann, who has had an injection in a shoulder.

Brown is also likely to have an injection in his side, which he strained pre-season and aggravated in the opening championship match against Middlesex. He was seeing a specialist in Newcastle yesterday and is likely to be out for another month.

While Durham's unluckiest player is Jimmy Daley, who has broken seven different fingers during his first-class career, Michael Gough is not far behind.

He managed half a game after recovering from a back problem, scoring a useful 32 not out in the win against Lancashire, before developing soreness underneath his big toe.

"He has a high instep, which puts pressure on the toe," explained Kent. "I've had him in a splint similar to the one David Beckham is wearing to try to get some pressure off the joint. Hopefully he'll be OK by Monday."

It is hoped the other casualties, James Brinkley (calf), Danny Law (back) and Nicky Phillips (finger) will be available to play in the three-day game against Sri Lanka starting at the Riverside on Tuesday.

After losing two of their three B & H games, Durham need to win today if they are to retain any hope of reaching the quarter-finals.

But they face a tough task against a side who beat them at the Riverside in this event last season before going on to reach the semi-finals.

They have temporarily been strengthened by the signing of big-hitting South African all-rounder Lance Klusener, who is filling in until the arrival of his Test colleague, left-arm spinner Nicky Boje.

Durham's overseas man, Martin Love, made his only B & H half-century to date against Nottinghamshire last season and Durham will hope that the Test venue brings the best out of him today.

Durham (from): J J B Lewis (capt), N Peng, A Pratt, M L Love, P D Collingwood, G J Pratt, G J Muchall, I D Hunter, G D Bridge, M J Symington, N Killeen, S J Harmison.

Yorkshire welcome back Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard for their Benson and Hedges Cup match against Derbyshire at Derby today - and both England players are raring to get a taste of the action.

The duo were under instructions to rest up for the first two weeks of the season but now they are free to play for Yorkshire in the last two qualifying matches of the B&H and the Championship game against Somerset at Taunton next week.

They know that they need to strike good form in order to win places in the England side for the first Test against Sri Lanka which begins at Lord's on Thursday week.

Hoggard has spent a lot of time walking his dog over Baildon and Ilkley Moors in the three-and-a-half weeks he has had off since the end of the tour of New Zealand.

"I didn't want to go away on holiday - I've been away all winter," he said. "It's been nice to relax and enjoy the moorland scenery and hang around near home."

Hoggard did manage a game for Bradford League club, Baildon, last weekend, but Vaughan has had a complete break, apart from a few nets and the daily two-hour physical fitness programme which has been a requirement of all the England players.

"It is the start of a new season and I am bound to be a little bit rusty but I hope to get plenty of time in the middle for Yorkshire over the next few days and help them to win a few matches," said Vaughan.

"Some of the England players have said they would have liked to have turned out for their counties earlier but I have found the break very beneficial.

"We have now got several months of virtually non-stop cricket, culminating in the World Cup in South Africa next February, and I am sure that in a few months time we will all be glad that we were able to take three weeks off in April.

"My appetite for Yorkshire cricket is as strong as ever and I will continue to get a massive buzz whenever I can turn out for them.

"Last year I managed around 700 runs in eight matches and I would be more than happy to do that again, but whether I am able to play that often this year remains to be seen."

Meanwhile, Darren Lehmann and his Championship winning team yesterday officially opened the new £1m indoor cricket centre at Headingley which is part of the ground's £10m refurbishment programme.

l Sri Lanka's preparations for the Test series against England were put on hold as rain washed out most of the second day of their match with the British Universities at Northampton.

The tourists, who had prospered on the first day on Thursday by putting 318 runs on the board, were yesterday frustrated by the rain that descended on the ground at lunchtime.

Only a couple of hours' play was possible in the morning, at the end of which the students were 346 runs behind with eight first-innings wickets remaining.

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