In at the deep end

Zimbabwe rebel Ervine is expected to make his Hampshire debut tomorrow despite spending the winter out of favour with Western Australia.

The all-rounder has not played a first class match since last May, when he played for Zimbabwe A against Sri Lanka before moving to Perth for the start of the 2004-05 Australian season.

But Hampshire manager Terry reckons Ervine is the perfect man to replace Mascarenhas, who misses his first championship match since April 2002, despite his lack of match practice.

The Hampshire manager said: "Sean hasn't played much for a while.

"Western Australia chose not to play him and he only played club cricket in Australia last season.

"But he's a really exciting player and I'd prefer to play him straight away and throw him in at the deep end.

"He may take a while to adjust or he may slot in very quickly but his form in training has looked very good.

"His stock ball is the away swinger but he swings the ball both ways consistently and in training he looks to be adapting well in terms of bowling to the right length for early season conditions over here.

"And his batting is also very positive, he loves to attack and he has a one day international hundred."

Harare-born Ervine's run-a-ball ton against India in Adelaide 15 months ago helped persuade WA to secure his services.

And Hampshire followed suit last October, when they snapped up the 22-year-old in the same week as Kevin Pietersen and Richard Logan.

The former Nottinghamshire pair are both expected to make their debuts against Gloucestershire, with Pietersen now close to full fitness two weeks after injuring himself while running on a beach in Australia.

Hampshire will make a final decision on Pietersen in consultation with the ECB, but an MRI scan has revealed that he should be okay to play alongside Logan and the rest of his new Hampshire teammates.

"We're not going to take any risks with KP but it might be difficult to stop him from playing!" said Terry, who rates Logan as the quickest bowler on the staff after seeing the 25-year-old take 8 for 90 at the Rose Bowl in his penultimate game for Notts in June.

"We're glad to have him on our side, he bowled really well against us last year, he's got a bit of pace about him which is exciting.

"He will give us a good chance with the new ball."

Hampshire will play with names and squad numbers on the backs of their county championship shirts for the first time tomorrow, at the request of the club's membership and supporters.

Hampshire (from): Adams, Brown, Crawley, Katich, Pietersen, Pothas, Ervine, Warne, Tremlett, Logan, Udal, Taylor.

Hampshire Cricket team picture in today's Daily Echo.