There was good news and bad news for Glamorgan at Taunton today.

On the positive side, Robert Croft heard that he had been selected in England`s squad for the Third Test against Australia starting at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Moreover, the off-spinner is very likley to be in the starting eleven, thereby winning his 21st Test cap, and taking a step closer to becoming the first Glamorgan bowler to take 50 wickets in Test cricket for England.

When announcing the squad, David Graveney, the Chairman of Selectors, said "We wanted to show continuity of selection by including Robert Croft. He performed very well on the winter tour of Sri Lanka, and we brought him back into the squad at Edgbaston. Maybe with hindsight, we should have played him there."

"Nottingham is a pretty flat wicket and Croft can beat the bat on both sides. He is likely to have to spend a lot of time bowling overs, but the fact that the pitch will not spin so much is not something that we are unduly concerned with. He will enable us to use our quicker bowlers in short spells."

But there was gloomy news as well for the Welsh county as captain Steve James broke a bone in his left hand during the defeat against Somerset. The injury happened as James was hit on his gloves by a rising short delivery from England paceman Andy Caddick.

James bravely tried to continue batting, but was unable to grip the bat properly, and after receiving treatment on the field, he went to a local hospital for an x-ray which revealed that his hand was fractured.

The Glamorgan skipper will see a specialist on Monday, and faces a spell on the sidelines. Also out of action for a while is Alex Wharf who has had further ankle problems during last week`s 2nd XI match against Middlesex at Usk.

Glamorgan will therefore travel to North Wales for the match against Lancashire at Colwyn Bay without these three players.

© Glamorgan CCC/CricInfo