Team physiotherapist Errol Alcott said the players had flu-like symptoms after the go-karting session last afternoon and some had reported feeling sick.

``We think it may have been the fumes,'' he said. Australia play Bangladesh on Thursday.

All the players attended nets at the Chester-Le-Street Ground, apart from batsman Ricky Ponting who has gastric flu.

Alcott said left-hand batsman Darren Lehmann was still nursing a shoulder injury and it was not known if he would be fit for the match, which Australia must win to have any chance of qualifying for the Super Six stage of the World Cup.

Continental cricket

AMSTERDAM: Cricket went continental on Wednesday with South Africa's match against Kenya at the Dutch capital's VRA Ground the first World Cup contest ever played on mainland Europe.

But the match, which began in warm sunshine, left many Dutch sports fans cold. The venue, complete with an infield tree similar to the one at Kent's Canterbury Ground, was given a temporary capacity of 5,000 for the day but only 4,000 tickets were sold.