By Jon Steer
September 19 2005

Liam Plunkett was today included in the England one-day squad to tour Pakistan. His inclusion alongside Steve Harmison and Paul Collingwood means that Durham have more players in the squad than any other county. Colly and Harmison also both feature in the test squad while Plunkett will spend his time at the ECB National Academy when not on tour.

Plunkett was a regular member of the under 19 test and one day squads and has been working with the ECB specialist bowling coach Troy Cooley.

David Graveney praised Plunkett's performances for Durham this season and said that with his selection the panel had one eye on the World Cup in 2007 where a bowler of his genuine pace would make great use of the pitches in the West Indies.

Colly will be hoping to add to his three test appearances, the latest helping England to win the Ashes at the Oval earlier this month. However it is likely that he will only make the final team as injury cover. The ECB have shown their support for Collingwood by giving him a full 12 month central contract alongside Steve Harmison.

The Durham players are likely to come up against former team-mate Shoaib Akhtar when they play in Pakistan. The Pakistani fast bowler spent a little over a year as one of Durham's overseas players but injuries meant that he didn't play as many matches as hoped.