Difficult start for Fleming in English season

Getting off the plane and stepping straight into English cricket's Twenty20 Cup did not provide the perfect start for New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming's season with Yorkshire.

Playing against Derbyshire in his first game he was out for a first ball duck, and two days later he scored four off his first ball and was then dismissed off the second.

While his New Zealand team-mate Chris Cairns ponders the broken finger keeping him out of action at the moment, he can reflect on 252 runs scored at 42.00 in his four County Championship games to date and 179 runs at 59.66 in his four one-day matches.

Ian Butler ended his four-game stint with Gloucestershire with 17 wickets at a cost of 28.11 but his three one-day matches produced only one wicket from 22 overs at a cost of 128 runs.

Former New Zealand player Craig Spearman has made a sound start for Gloucestershire with 349 County Championship runs at 38.77, including a century and two half-centuries.

In one-dayers he has totalled 504 runs at 56.00, with a highest score of 153, off 123 balls, against Warwickshire.

Another New Zealander, Chris Harris made 50 for Lashings in their first game of the season, against Cambridge University. Cambridge scored 209 in 40 overs with Harris contributing 50. Cambridge were unable to do better than 160 for five in their innings.

Harris also played for a World XI, along with Andre Adams, in a match against the Netherlands to celebrate HCC's 125th jubilee. Harris scored 49 not out for the World XI which totalled 225 for nine and then took five for 41 as the home team were all out for 172.

Former Canterbury player Darron Reekers was a member of the Netherlands side.

Among the New Zealanders playing league cricket in England, Matthew Bell scored 108 for Esher in their winning draw against Regiate Priory in the Surrey Championship premier division.

Rob Nicol scored 88 not out and took three for 52 in Rishton's seven-wicket loss to Haslingden.

James Marshall's 49 wasn't enough to help Formby who suffered a three-wicket loss to Liverpool in the first division of the Liverpool and District competition, while in the premier division Warren McSkimming scored 27 in Lytham's one-wicket win over Bootle.

Aaron Barnes scored 53 in Colwyn Bay's six-wicket loss to Southport and Birkdale while Brendon Donkers scored 23 not out in Leigh's draw with Northern.

Reekers' Quick Haag team suffered a 101-run loss to VCC in the Netherlands league, with Reekers only able to contribute six runs while taking one for 32 from his 10 overs.