Cricket: Gatting cut by glass after hitting door: Middlesex captain to miss one-day internationals after dressing-room injury requires stitches

Australians 243 for 5; Middlesex 174

Australians win by 69 runs

MIKE GATTING ran himself out in a meaningless one-day match against the Australians, then put his hand through a pane of glass in the home dressing-room door at Lord's to rule himself out of the one-day international series later this month.

Gatting needed stitches - lots of them, according to the Middlesex secretary Joe Hardstaff - in his left hand and forearm and will be out for at least two weeks.

The official Middlesex line was that their captain had followed someone through the swing door and, when he tried to stop it crashing into him, his hand went through the glass panel. Unofficially there were hints that Gatting was unhappy at getting out. He must have been even more disgruntled on his return to the ground because, while he was being stitched up at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, Middlesex were coming apart at the seams and subsiding to a 69-run defeat with more than six overs of their 55 remaining.

When he finally did show up again at Lord's in blood-spattered flannels, Gatting was sporting a bandage around his arm and strapping on the ring and little fingers of his left hand.

But he did not seem unduly put out as he explained: 'I went for the door and missed it, but it's not too serious. One or two stitches here and one or two stitches there. The doctor could not say how long I'll be out, but hopefully it won't be much more than a week or two.' That will still be enough to keep him out of contention for the Texaco Trophy series; the England squad is being selected next Tuesday and the series begins at Old Trafford in two weeks' time. That is a pity since he was just getting a taste for the Australian bowling.

But the cricket was incidental to the day's sideshows. While there may have been some uncertainty over Gatting's mood on his return to the pavilion, there was no doubt over Allan Border's reaction to his dismissal.

He was bowled round his legs for eight by a full toss from Angus Fraser, who raised a hand in apology, only to see the world's leading Test scorer swat the remaining stumps with his bat. The Australian tour manager, Des Rundle, did not see the incident but Border's record of dissent during the recent West Indies tour of Australia will not serve him well. He was fined in the first Test, then reprimanded for the same offence in the fifth.

And there was more. Fraser, struggling to regain his form following a longstanding hip injury, appeared to be on the receiving end of a few sharp words from Gatting after Matthew Hayden and Damien Martyn - two 21-year-olds - had clobbered him all over the place.

Later Fraser shrugged off his difference of opinion with Gatting, saying: 'It was normal banter between a captain and a bowler who has just gone for 35 in four overs.' His final figures can have done his England chances no good: his two wickets in 11 overs cost him 76 runs.

Hayden went on to hit his second century in consecutive one-day games, as he and Martyn added 139 for the third wicket. Hayden's exhilarating 122 contained two sixes and 12 fours, and he must be a near certainty for Texaco selection. His effort helped the tourists reach 243 for 5.

The Middlesex reply stuttered from the start. Craig McDermott sent back Matthew Keech and Mark Ramprakash in his first two overs and by the time a male streaker had been escorted off the playing area in the ninth over, John Carr was also out.

Gatting (32) and Mike Roseberry - the top scorer with 47 - added 60 for the fourth wicket. Gatting then turned for a second run that was not there and it was effectively over for Middlesex, except for a brief flurry from Mark Feltham, who helped them to 174 all out.

Yorkshire beat Lancashire in a friendly match at Headingley yesterday. Lancashire had resumed needing another 357 to win with all wickets standing, but were all out 116 runs short, despite another fine innings from Graham Lloyd and stubborn late resistance by Peter Martin and Glen Chapple.

(Photograph omitted)