cricket Australia is yet to reveal whether Hampshire will have Shane Warne available for the first two months of next season.

Hampshire captain Warne is currently discussing plans for the 2005 campaign with chairman Rod Bransgrove and manager Paul Terry.

And, if Cricket Australia agree, Warne will captain Hampshire up until July in the county's first season in the first division of both the county championship and the totesport National League, before embarking on his seventh Ashes series.

Hampshire are by no means the only county hoping to sign potential Ashes squad members for the first ten weeks of next season.

But, after recruiting no fewer than five Australians - Warne, Michael Clarke, Michael Dighton, Shane Watson and Simon Katich - during their promotion winning season, Hampshire's plans for progress hinge on the availability of some of the best players Down Under.

Ex-Durham and Australia batsman David Boon, who is also a national selector, said: "I am sure that the issue will be settled amicably between us, the players, and the counties.

"There is a lot of goodwill between all of the parties and I'm sure we will reach a better understanding of when players can go to England and when they should rest."

But Australian national selector Trevor Hohns admits his concern that the workload of Australian players in county cricket could affect their international performances.

The issue came to a head when Andrew Symonds terminated his fifth season with Kent after being summoned by Cricket Australia because of an Achilles injury.

Hohns said: "It's a difficult one. We don't want players worn out to the extent that it affects their Australian performances.

"With the amount of cricket we have coming up over the next twelve months, we can't afford to have players bowled into the ground."

The reality for counties is that the days of recruiting high-profile Australians for the duration of a county season are well and truly over.

Shorter stints of only a few weeks at time will become the norm, but Warne's retirement from one-day international cricket will at least protect him from being over-bowled.