LANCASHIRE new Kolpak signing Francois Du Plessis has arrived in England - but the South African batsman will not play in the three-day friendly against Durham University today.
The 23-year-old must, instead, attend a routine ECB registration meeting to ratify his clearance for county cricket.
But Du Plessis could be one of the main beneficiaries of Brad Hodge's decision to take up the big bucks on offer in the much talked about Indian Premier League.
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Cricket manager Mike Watkinson said: "Brad's got an opportunity, and now three or four Lancashire players have too. Apart from Mark Chilton, there are a lot of emerging cricketers there who will want the chance to prove themselves worthy of a place."
Du Plessis plays for the Nashua Titans provincial franchise in South Africa, a former team-mate of Yorkshire batsman Jacques Rudolph.
Watkinson added: "With Francois there is a lot of potential. I am really excited to see how he will do with Lancashire this season. Last year at Notts he scored six consecutive hundreds for the seconds. He's a clever cricketer."
Mal Loye is in line to captain a strong Lancashire side up in the North-east. Regular skipper Stuart Law misses out after having a cortisone injection in his left wrist.
But the likes of Chilton, Dominic Cork, Tom Smith, Oliver Newby and Gareth Cross could all feature, while Atherton professional Steven Mullaney is pushing for a place. Andrew Flintoff will almost certainly be rested, but the ECB have made James Anderson available for the fixture.
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