FORMER England bats-man John Crawley is due to return for Hampshire in their vital Cheltenham and Gloucester (C&G) Trophy tie at Bristol tomorrow.

Six days after Hampshire's splendid totesport League win over Gloucestershire, the teams square up again with a quarter-final C&G place up for grabs.

Crawley, out for five weeks with a knee injury, was being given a run-out in the second team in a three-day match against Sussex II this week.

Provided his knee shows no reaction after surgery, he will travel from The Rose Bowl after close of play today and join up with his team-mates in Bristol.

The third-round tie in the C&G Trophy will be the last Hampshire appearance for Michael Dighton, the 28-year-old Tasmanian batsman whose starring role helped Hampshire to victory in last Sunday's encounter.

Sunday's match will give him a second chance to catch the eye before he returns to club cricket for Greenock in Scotland.

The cancellation of the two-Test series against Australia by Zimbabwe has meant an early return for Hampshire skipper Shane Warne.

But the consequent earlier dates for the three one-day internationals between the two nations means the loss of Australians Michael Clarke and Shane Watson tomorrow.

Hampshire also expect Dimitri Mascarenhas and Chris Tremlett to return after injury tomorrow, when they renew battle with the county who have dominated one-day domestic cricket in recent seasons.

On Monday, Hampshire return to the Rose Bowl to entertain Kent in the totesport League before tackling Nottinghamshire over four days, starting on Wednesday.