It now seems very likely that Glamorgan`s new captain Steve James will miss the county's opening County Championship match of the 2001 season next week at Northampton.

Last week James had been quite upbeat about his chances of playing against Northamptonshire, but club surgeon, John Fairclough, has told the opening batsman that he needs to strengthen his left leg more after undergoing knee surgery twice this winter.

"John wanted to see how I was progressing," said James, "but there's still a bit of work to be done before I'm fully fit. I've got to strengthen my left leg and it's pretty unlikely that I'll play at Northampton."

In James` absence, the captaincy will be taken over by vice-captain Adrian Dale. New overseas signing Jimmy Maher should be able to take his place alongside Dale in the starting line-up at Northampton, with the Australian batsman arriving in the U.K. on Wednesday.

© Glamorgan CCC