As an indication of the problem facing English county clubs with the hiring of overseas players, Warwickshire have come to an agreement with the United Cricket Board of South Africa that Shaun Pollock will not play in Norwich Union League matches for the county this season.

Originally, the UCB had favoured their captain taking the whole of the period of the English summer off so that he could conserve his energies for the World Cup, scheduled to be played in South Africa in 2003. However, Warwickshire have managed to arrive at a suitable compromise with the UCB that will satisfy everyone.

Warwickshire coach, Bob Woolmer, who used to be in charge of the South African national side, had already resigned himself to losing Pollock for the end of the season, when he would be required for national duty during a limited-overs series in Morocco and then the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.

The announcement that Australia will be playing against Pakistan in June with three one-day internationals in a week will cause additional concern to counties as international commitments encroach further into the English season.

With the Tangier tournament likely to involve South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and Pakistan now going to Australia, several counties are likely to be without their overseas players for a significant period of the summer.

Middlesex, for example, will be without Abdur Razzaq until after the re-arranged series in Pakistan against New Zealand until May 20th, and then will find him packing his bags early to go to Morocco and on to the Champions Trophy. However, they will not be losing him for the Australian trip.

A spokesman said: "When we signed Razzaq we thought it was a real coup because Pakistan had nothing arranged at the time. Then, all of a sudden, we heard that he would not be arriving until May 20th.

"But we have got him from then until the middle of August, because we understand from the Pakistan Cricket Board that he will not be required to go to Australia in June. We don't know why that is, but we're more than happy to go along with it."

In Razzaq's absence until the end of May, Middlesex have signed Australian pace bowler Ashley Noffke, who toured England last summer as a replacement for the injured Nathan Bracken. Not surprisingly, Middlesex is fully behind the proposal to allow two overseas players to be signed by each county when the matter is discussed by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

© CricInfo