PAUL Collingwood will be looking to regain his form against one of his favourite opponents today after yesterday's confirmation of his place in England's one-day squad.
The Durham vice-captain will play his last game for the county at Worcester before his England commitments take him away for five weeks.
He starts by playing for a Professional Cricketers' Association XI against Australia in a Twenty20 match at Arundel on June 9.
Ian Bell has now pushed Collingwood out of England's Test squad and could also challenge for his one-day place.
However, it is a measure of how well established Collingwood is in the England one-day set-up that he has been selected on the back of some indifferent recent form for Durham.
Since becoming the first Durham batsman for almost two years to score a century at Riverside in the two-day win against Worcestershire in April he has not passed 20 in seven championship innings.
His one-day form has also suffered since his 82 in the C & G Trophy defeat by Derbyshire a month ago. In the games against Kent and Surrey on Sunday and Monday he scored 13 and nought and had combined figures of one for 55 in ten overs.
But he enjoys batting against Worcestershire. His 129 in April was his second Riverside century against them - he made 103 in the last match of the 2001 season - and last year he thrashed 102 not out at New Road in Durham's record one-day league total of 319 for three. He also made an unbeaten 63 in the return totesport match at Riverside.
Although they won at Kidderminster in 2001, Durham have never beaten Worcestershire in a championship match at New Road. In 2002 they lost by an innings and 308 runs in the match in which Graeme Hick made 315 not out.
Two years ago the margin was only 31 runs and after this year's seven-wicket Riverside win Durham will be aiming for a swift double.
A fifth championship win might be enough to secure promotion as Glamorgan went up in third place with five wins last year.
Left-arm spinner Graeme Bridge and former England Under 19 seamer Mark Turner join the squad, but it will be a surprise if the pitch favours spin as Worcestershire's Gareth Batty is on England duty.
Since the April clash they have been strengthened by the return to fitness of England one-day man Kabir Ali and the arrival of South African all-rounder Zander de Bruyn.
Durham were below par at Tunbridge Wells and The Oval, and now they will find out how well they fare without Mike Hussey and Steve Harmison in the championship.
Durham (from): D M Benkenstein (capt), J J B Lewis, N J Astle, P D Collingwood, G J Muchall, N Peng, G R Breese, P Mustard, L E Plunkett, A A Noffke, M Davies, G D Bridge, M Turner.
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