ROOKIE Liam Plunkett reckons there'll be no problems with homesickness when he jets off with the England squad for the forthcoming three-Test series and five one-day tour of Pakistan next week.

The 20-year-old fast bowler, who boards the plane headed for the Asian subcontinent on Monday, says he is relishing the challenge ahead.

Durham team-mates Steve Harmison and Paul Collingwood join Plunkett on the flight with the former, it could be fair to say, hardly embracing the prospect of leaving Blighty's shores.

Harmison's homesickness has been well documented in the past and he makes no secret that he's hostile to being separated from his wife and children while he's on tour.

Plunkett was sympathetic to Harmison's plight and reckons it will take more than just a couple of Auf Wiedersehen Pet episodes and a copy of Lindisfarne's Fog on the Tyne to cure his ills.

"I think he's always going to have a bit of trouble with homesickness and he's entitled to because he misses his family," said Plunkett.

"Obviously I've just got my parents and my girlfriend at the moment so things aren't preying on my mind as much."

Plunkett revealed he loves foreign travel.

The Durham quickie recently toured Bangladesh with the England Under 19 side and enjoyed a successful spell in Australia prior to the curtain being raised on the county cricket season this year.

And Plunkett says he hopes the Asian experience will stand him in good stead for the impending tour.

"I don't mind touring," said the Middlesbrough-born bowler. "It is a similar climate in Pakistan to Bangladesh so I have a little bit of experience and that might help.

"It's a massive culture shock with the poverty and all that, which preys on your mind a little bit.

"And, obviously, the food isn't too good at times and you get a stomach bug on occasion and you have to hit the toilet.

"But I like that sort of stuff. Being away from home, experiencing new cultures, being with the lads and playing something I enjoy."

Plunkett, who indulged in a spot of light training and team bonding with the rest of the England squad this week at the ECB National Academy in Loughborough, confessed the call-up has yet to sink in.

He was initially selected for the one-day squad after veteran Darren Gough made himself unavailable but, when Simon Jones failed to recover from an ankle injury, selector David Graveney then elevated him to the full Test squad too.

But while some may think his inclusion is down to the misfortune of others, Plunkett could boast - if he chose too - that he is in the squad on merit.

Last season he was first Durham bowler to pass 50 Championship wickets since Simon Brown did so in 2000.

He ended up with 51 Division Two Championship scalps, at 30.8 each, in 14 appearances. He also struck 17 times to help Durham secure elevation to the top flight of the National League and, his unbeaten career-best 74 against Somerset demonstrated that he is more than useful with the bat.

"I can't wait to get out there. It is the biggest thing in my career so far and I'm really looking forward to it," confessed an excited Plunkett.

"It still hasn't sunk in yet. It probably will when I step off the plane or have my first net session in Pakistan.

"My aim at the start of the year was to get 50 wickets and to get picked for the Academy; anything else would have been a bonus.

"But it was amazing to get the phone call from David Graveney to be picked for the one-day squad and then a week later get another to say I would be taking over from Simon Jones.

"I think it has surprised me because I was just focusing on playing County Cricket for the rest of the year."