Zimbabwe opener sent home

Mark Vermeulen, the Zimbabwe opener, has been disciplined and sent home from the tour of England for "persistent misconduct". Vermeulen, who played in both Test matches at Lord's and the Riverside, will now miss the forthcoming one-day NatWest Series.

The decision was taken after the 24-year-old decided not to travel with the rest of the squad following Friday's play in the second Test at Chester-le-Street. A disciplinary hearing was held at the touring party's hotel in Durham on Sunday and the team manager, Babu Meman, said: "Mark has been warned about his conduct on a number of separate occasions during the tour but unfortunately has not heeded that advice. The final straw concerned an incident that took place at the end of play on the Friday of the Test.

"Mark ignored a management instruction to travel with the rest of the squad on the coach, which is a practice followed at all games to promote team morale and adhere to the security advice we have been given for the tour. Instead he left the ground on his own, deliberately ignoring a perfectly reasonable request."

Any further disciplinary action will be considered by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union board when Vermeulen returns home later this week.

The Zimbabwe coach, Geoff Marsh, said: "Mark is a talented player but he has to learn that the team comes before personal considerations."

The Nottinghamshire all-rounder Chris Cairns will be out for six weeks after breaking a bone in his hand. The New Zealander suffered the injury when he dived to stop a ball in the slips on the final day of the drawn County Championship First Division match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. The 32-year-old will miss all five of his side's five qualifying games in the Twenty20 Cup as well as up to five National League fixtures.

Robin Smith said he is considering delaying plans to retire to continue playing for Hampshire following his impressive start to the new season. Smith, 39, who played 62 Tests for England, has hit five half-centuries this summer.

The former Hampshire captain was planning to retire in September to concentrate on his business interests but he is now considering carrying on playing for another year.

Smith, who made his first-class debut for Hampshire in 1982, said: "I'm delighted at how things have gone this season. I can't remember batting as well as this since I was playing Test cricket."

* Steve Waugh has been made an Officer of the Order of Australia in The Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to cricket and charity, most notably for his work with Udayan, a home for leprosy-stricken children in Calcutta.