LANCASHIRE have been dealt a major double blow after it emerged that overseas pair Muttiah Muralitharan and Brad Hodge will miss crucial County Championship games towards the end of the season.

Muralitharan will be part of Sri Lanka's squad for the Twenty20 World Cup, which takes place in South Africa in September.

Hodge is also going to be called up by Cricket Australia for a four-day training camp.

They will both miss games against Durham, Warwickshire and Surrey, while Hodge misses a further game against Kent.