Durham were last night waiting to hear the results of Steve Harmison's scan on the shin injury which is threatening to rule him out for two months.
The 20-year-old paceman, who has been in the England squad for the first three Tests of the summer, limped off at Basingstoke eight days ago with a suspected stress fracture.
He is certain to miss the crucial four-day game against fellow division one strugglers Derbyshire starting at Darlington on Wednesday.
Durham first tackle Middlesex at the Riverside in the National League tomorrow and Zimbabwe in a one-day match, also at Chester-le-Street, on Tuesday.
The visit of Middlesex brings back Mike Roseberry and Robin Weston to face their old team mates.
After suffering a disappointing loss of form during his three years as Durham captain, Roseberry scored 77 not out and 83 against them in the two National League clashes last season.
Weston, who also struggled to make an impression with Durham, joined Middlesex this season after two years with Derbyshire.
Durham have had two days off since their NatWest Trophy win against Berkshire and will select their squad following nets today.
Among those coming into contention will reserve wicket keeper Andrew Pratt, who scored 107 and 69 in the second team match at the Oval which finished yesterday.
l Hansie Cronje was reduced to tears as three days of cross-examination at the King Commission into corruption ended yesterday.
Following a gruelling session in which he said he wanted to use money he took in bribes to redress the damage he had done to cricket the former South Africa captain wept with relief.
The 30-year-old broke down as the panel of lawyers at the commission wrapped up their cross-examination and thanked him for his cooperation.
Cronje was helped out of the room by a minder and by his brother Frans after being warned that he might be recalled to the inquiry.
Next on the stand was Johannesburg gambler Marlon Aronstam.
But he too started crying, and the inquiry was briefly adjourned.
Aronstam gave Cronje 7,215 US dollars and a leather jacket after the captain set up what had been an otherwise impossible result in the rain-hit fifth Test against England at Centurion Park in January 2000.
Aronstam told the inquiry he was ''shocked'' when within an hour of meeting Cronje for the first time the South African captain had told him he could ''throw a game''.
Before he left the inquiry, Cronje said he wanted the money he had accepted in bribes to be used to correct some of the damage he had caused.
''I hope that I can use this money in some way to repay and redress the hurt that I've caused to the game and my country in particular,'' he said.
In his statement to the commission last week, Cronje admitted to accepting four bribes worth about 140,000 dollars from gamblers since 1996.
He also testified that one gambler, Indian jeweller Mukesh Gupta, had been introduced to him by former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin in 1996.
Lawyers for the United Cricket Board quizzed Cronje over that introduction, but the ex-captain was reluctant to say Azharuddin was himself involved in corruption.
Cronje said: ''He could have been involved with Mr Gupta, but I didn't for any reason think he was doing business with Mr Gupta at all.''
He conceded later: ''If he's the one who has introduced me then he can also do business with Mr Gupta.''
Cronje added it is unlikely he is the only international player to have been approached by bookmakers.
''If they could get to me they could get to anyone,'' he said.
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