ALLAN Donald is scheduled to land at Heathrow Airport at 6.30am tomorrow in time to play for Worcestershire in their Benson and Hedges Cup semi-final against Essex at Chelmsford (10.45am).

The pace star is in South Africa today to attend the funeral of his boyhood pal Hansie Cronje who was killed in a plane crash last weekend.

Donald, a temporary replacement for Andy Bichel who is on international duty for Australia, made his debut for the County in yesterday's Norwich Union League Division One win over Yorkshire at Headingley.

Soon after the match ended he jetted out from Leeds to Heathrow where he caught a flight to South Africa to enable him to attend today's funeral in Bloemfontein.

When he touches down at Heathrow tomorrow he will be picked up by Worcestershire newcomer Stephen Peters, the former Essex player who is currently nursing a broken thumb, and taken to Chelmsford.

New Road chief executive Mark Newton said: "It was a personal decision to go and we heartily support and endorse it."

Paceman Stuart Lampitt, meanwhile, is hoping history will repeat itself tomorrow after playing in the 1991 semi-final against Essex at Chelmsford when the County won by nine wickets.

They went on to lift the trophy with a 65-run win over Lancashire at Lord's.

Lampitt is well aware that, as a one-day specialist for Worcestershire this season, economic bowling will play a major part in his side's victory bid.

He believes the County's one-day form this season -- with the exception of their 'unreal' opening Benson defeat against Gloucestershire -- will stand them in good stead for tomorrow's showdown.

Lampitt said: "We have got a good strong unit. We play good competitive one-day cricket and we have done well after the start we had against Gloucestershire.

"That was one to forget. That was just an unreal fixture really. Everything that we played at we edged and everything we missed hit the wickets. It was one of those things.

"But we just forgot about it and got in with it and won the next four games in the zonal stages and we got through the quarter-final against Gloucestershire. Now we've got to do the same against Essex."

Matt Rawnsley and Phil Weston are added to the 11 who were on duty for the County at Headingley yesterday.

Essex hope to have all-rounder Paul Grayson available after a knee injury.

The second semi-final between Lancashire and Warwickshire takes place at Old Trafford on Friday.

Worcs (from): Singh, Solanki, Hick, Smith, Leatherdale, Batty, Rhodes, Kabir Ali, Lampitt, Donald, Sheriyar, Weston, Rawnsley.

Essex (from): Hussain, Robinson, Dakin, Flower, Irani, Habib, Grayson, Middlebrook, Cowan, Stephenson, Clarke, Ilott, Jefferson, Napier.