Paul Crook will be available for Whitehaven’s Ladbrokes Challenge Cup tie against Oxford on Sunday.

Crook had been charged over coming into contact with referee Liam Moore during the recent League One clash at the Recreation Ground against Toronto Wolfpack.

But, with an early guilty plea available, that was entered on his behalf by the club, Cook escaped without a ban or a fine.

It does mean, however, that the former Rochdale stand-off won’t be able to use another early guilty plea for 12 months.

Crook’s availability means that he will be set to play the 200th senior game of his career if coach Carl Forster selects him against Oxford.

Now aged 30, and a PE teacher, Crook had started his career with St Helens academy before gaining senior experience at Widnes where he played in 14 Super League games.

After three years with Widnes, he had short link-ups with Doncaster and Swinton before joining Rochdale Hornets in 2010.

That proved a fruitful association as Crook notched-up 166 appearances in seven seasons, scoring 64 tries and kicking 616 goals for the Hornets, just a point shy of the 1500 mark.

Last season, he was voted Best Player in League One so his signing by Whitehaven was regarded as quite a coup. His 200th appearance was put on hold for a week by the postponed cup tie with Oxford.

Whitehaven officials will be keeping a close eye on the weather following last Sunday’s postponement, desperate to get the game on this week and not lose any more fixtures.

The condition of the Recreation Ground pitch is not being helped by the over-flowing beck behind the grandstand. That beck is badly in need of dredging which would alleviate the flooding problem for the rugby league club.

Meanwhile, the re-arranged game with Hunslet, postponed this coming Sunday because of the Challenge Cup tie, has been re-arranged for Sunday, April 30 with a 2pm kick-off.