PAUL Collingwood is annoyed that league rules have prevented Mark Wood from continuing his comeback from injury by playing for Ashington.

The paceman is expected to feature in Durham's championship match at home to Kent, starting on Tuesday, but has bowled only 12 overs since recovering from the heel injury which kept him out of the last two Tests against South Africa.

He was deliberately restricted to five overs in the second team's defeat in the first of two one-day matches against Scotland A at Burnopfield, then bowled seven in the victory which followed, when he also scored 55 not out.

Collingwood felt it would have helped Wood's recovery had he been able to play for his home club this weekend.

“Clubs in Ashington's league are allowed one professional and they registered an Indian who couldn't get a visa. But the registration has sat there and they can't register anyone else.

“I don't understand how a club can bring up a player 100 per cent as an amateur and then not be rewarded by being able to play him when his professional duties allow.

“Those players should be given an honorary registration. It's like going back home to your family, but I've had the same problem since 2003 with not being able to play for Shotley Bridge.

“The clubs have a vote on this, but it has to be unanimous, so those who do produce professional players don't get rewarded.”

Collingwood has climbed to third in this season’s overall PCA Most Valuable Player rankings following his 177 against Derbyshire.

He has 406 points across all formats and has only Nottinghamshire’s Samit Patel (479) and Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram (430) ahead of him.

As he continues to nurse an Achilles problem, Collingwood's points total has been restricted by his reluctance to bowl in the championship. His third championship century of the season earned him 28 points.

Graham Onions weighed in with seven wickets in the match, which gave him 22 points, also a season’s best.

Now only seven short of Simon Brown's record of 518 first-class wickets for Durham, he remains the highest-ranked of the current squad in the all-time PCA MVP since the rankings system was introduced in 2007.

Paul Coughlin is Durham's second highest-ranked player in this season’s overall rankings in 15th place on 343 points.