Warwickshire have abandoned any attempt to sign Shaun Pollock for the 2008 season after it emerged that the South African's availability would be greatly restricted by other commitments.

Pollock informed the club that he would only be available for the domestic Twenty20 competition in between his stint playing in the Indian Premier League and a role broadcasting on South Africa's tour of England. Pollock has not ruled out signing for another county, however, and is still in talks with several.

Although the former Warwickshire overseas player would certainly have strengthened the team with both bat and ball, his absence does present further opportunity to the club's younger players. It also means that the Warwickshire squad for 2008 will not contain a single 'Kolpak' registered player; quite a contrast when compared to the likes of Leicestershire, who could register as many as six, or Northamptonshire, who are likely to field four).

One of those youngsters who stands to benefit from Pollock's absence, all-rounder Nick James, has broken a big toe and will be out of action for four weeks. The club are confident, however, that James will be fully fit for the start of the season. He joins Ian Westwood (broken thumb) as a victim of new director of cricket Ashley Giles' deadly aim with the bowling machine.

The club have also invited Tom Allin for trials. The 20-year-old medium-pacer impressed in four Minor Counties Championship matches for Devon last season and is the son of Tony Allin, the left-arm spinner who played for Glamorgan.

Meanwhile, Warwickshire executives remain quietly confident of winning the required number of votes to pass the special resolution updating the constitution of the club. Of the votes cast to date, a ratio of about ten to one are supporting the resolution.

The club requires two-thirds of the returned votes to approve of the changes to pass the resolution. Voting closes and the result will be announced on the night of the club's annual meeting a week tomorrow.

Central to the resolution is the requirement of the club to increase its borrowing power. At present, Warwickshire can borrow no more than £5million but the committee hope members agree to increase that to £20m in order to finance redevelopment. If ever there was a doubt about how necessary such finances might be, it was surely dispelled with confirmation of the club's losses for the last financial year; just over £890,000.

Although the absence of an Edgbaston Test in the 2007 fixture list was one obvious reason for the extent of the losses, it is worth noting that the club did host two one-day internationals and Twenty20 finals day. Without the redevelopment, it is likely that future years could be even more demanding.

Some consolation has come with a performance-related award of £20,000 from the England and Wales Cricket Board. The sum recognises the support of strength, conditioning and physiotherapy personnel at the club for their work with centrally-contracted players, the development squad, National Academy and staff players.