Warne stars but Katich has biggest impact

In Cricinfo's first weekly round-up of Australian players in England, Peter English trawls through the results of the 14 first-class performers in the County Championship and the National League over the past seven days.

The Shane Warne watch stepped us this week as the focus grew from moving countries and sledging to his batting. After 238 first-class matches he finally raised his blade in glee rather than pad-thumping anguish to celebrate a 72-ball century. Walking out at 7 for 130 in the Division One match against Kent at Canterbury, Warne belted 16 fours and three sixes to finish with 107 as Hampshire reached a valuable 328.

Despite bowling 37 overs in the second innings, he couldn't knock over the final wicket needed for a Hampshire victory, leaving him with 3 for 65 and his side in third. In a dangerous sign for England, Warne has already collected 25 wickets in four matches played in conditions cold enough to pull out his beanie.

Simon Katich, Hampshire's second overseas player and the Test side's most under-valued batsman, enjoyed a better week than Warne with 128 in the second innings and 85 from 63 balls when they shifted to Lord's for a National League victory over Middlesex. Promoted to opener, Katich belted four sixes and eight fours as Hamsphire added a team-best 353 in 45 overs to secure their first win of the Division One season.

In the Championship's second tier Ian Harvey, the Victoria allrounder batting No. 5 for Yorkshire, improved on a first-innings 1 with 47 as his side successfully chased a county-record 404 to beat Leicestershire at Leicester. Anthony McGrath controlled the attempt with 165 and Phil Jaques, New South Wales' opening batsman, chipped in with 37 to go with his 14 in the six-wicket success that moved them to second.

Harvey added another 47 in the Division Two National League loss on Sunday to Durham, but his limited-overs bowling has lacked impact and he recorded figures of 0 for 62 from nine overs. Durham were stabilised by Mike Hussey's 66 while Mick Lewis picked up a wicket, taking his one-day tally to nine in five matches.

Durham sit on top of the Division Two Championship table after their crushing of Lancashire, a win which Hussey set up by carrying his bat for 144, his second hundred of the season, as they posted a first-innings 338 against Muttiah Muralitharan. Lewis then added two victims to his three on day one as Lancashire fell for 173, with Brad Hodge and Stuart Law failing to pass through the teens. Hussey was unbeaten on 26 to seal their fourth victory and give him 538 Championship runs at an average of 107.6.

Law, who will always be a Queenslander despite his shiny British citizenship, lifted Lancashire's mood as he skipped to 54 from 37 balls as opener in the National League success over Northamptonshire at Old Trafford. Damien Wright, the Tasmania allrounder at Northants, went wicketless through seven overs and added 15 at No. 6 while Martin Love managed 38 off 49 balls before falling to Glen Chapple.

Love also had a quiet Division Two Championship match against Essex at Northampton, making 20 as Northants piled on 7 for 552 declared with centuries to Bilal Shafayat and Usman Afzaal. Wright stepped up with 55 against an attack resting Darren Gough and Alex Tudor. However, Wright was able to take only one wicket as Essex batted out a high-scoring draw. Essex's recovery led to a five-wicket National League win over Glamorgan, who were given four runs by Matthew Elliott, the new South Australia recruit who was batting lower than usual at No. 4.

Michael Di Venuto and Jon Moss added second-innings half centuries in Derbyshire's nine-wicket loss to Worcestershire at Worcester. Di Venuto got a first-ball duck and Moss collected 25 as they failed to pass the follow-on mark, but both performed better with 51 and 75 as they set Worcestershire a chase of 100. Worcestershire backed up with a 16-run win in Division One of the National League against Nottinghamshire, where David Hussey made 2 in 13 balls before falling lbw to Chaminda Vaas.