BUSY MAHELA IS SET TO MISS OUT; DERBYSHIRE.

DERBYSHIRE are set to confirm this week that Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene will not be able join them this season because of increased international commitments.

The club will instead offer their Australian overseas player Chris Rogers the opportunity to stay on for the whole year when he was initially signed as a stop-gap to cover for Jayawardene, who is currently in the West Indies.

The Sri Lankan will follow the one-day series in the Caribbean with six weeks at the Indian Premier League and then the Asia Cup in June.

"It's looking increasingly likely that Mahela won't be able to join us because of the extra commitments he and Sri Lanka have taken on since he signed," said Derbyshire chief executive Tom Sears.

"We knew that Mahela's availability was going to be tight so we took the step of signing Chris in case he wasn't able to come at all.

"Mahela is still hoping to join us another season if not this year but at the moment we have an able replacement in Chris, who is experienced in English conditions.

"We might look for another player if Chris wanted a break mid-summer but these are issues we will address."

Rogers was dropped from Cricket Australia's 25-man contracted players group last week and will see a county season as the perfect opportunity to prove a point to the Australian selectors.

Captain: Rikki Clarke Coach: John Morris Overseas players: Mahela Jayawardene (SL), Chris Rogers (Aus) Ins: P Borrington, R Clarke (Surrey), N Doshi (Surrey), M Jayawardene, C Rogers (Northants), J Sadler (Leics), D Telo.

Outs: G Ballance (Yorkshire), B Rankin (Warwickshire), C Taylor (Yorkshire), H Adnan, A Botha (Warwickshire), P Weston Prospects: Derbyshire are striving to somehow change long flagging fortunes. Inevitably, their raft of new signings includes a few punts - not least Clarke as captain.