Durham captain Paul Collingwood is adamant that he still has the drive to lead the team forward ahead of the 2018 season.

Collingwood, who turns 42 in May, was key last season and will continue to be at the forefront in the new term as he once again leads a young team in the Specsavers County Championship Division Two, starting today at home to Kent.

The former England batsman scored 1,087 runs in first-class cricket in the 2017 campaign, including three centuries. He was equally impressive in the T20 Blast, notching his maiden hundred in the format, leading the run column for the team in the process.

Collingwood spent the winter on tour with England in a coaching role during the Ashes, along with serving as head coach of the North team in their series against the South in the Caribbean.

Although he has not committed to Durham beyond the end of 2018, he is adamant that he wants to continue playing for as long as possible, despite being linked with a permanent position in the England set-up.

He said: “At this moment in time I’m contracted to Durham. All my efforts are going in to hopefully getting promotion this year. Coaching is something I’m privileged to do throughout the winter, but my number one job at this time is playing cricket and I want to play as long as I feel I have the energy to do it.

“I’m not too sure what the long-term future holds. I’ve said over the past three seasons that each of those was going to be my last, so we’re just going to have to wait and see. My body feels exceptionally good in terms of fitness, but it’s the mental side where you need the energy.

“As long as you’ve got the energy in the mental side, you’ll get up in the hard times and keep going out there to try and perform. I still want this club to become bigger better and I want to help develop these players. So it’s something that I’m not going to give up too easily.”

Despite his proven pedigree at the highest level and consistency in the middle for Durham, Collingwood cannot afford to rest on his laurels to ensure that he maintains his high standards for the new campaign.

He added: “I’m a professional sportsman I’m always going to have anxiety and doubts. I’m always learning new things, new shots, and opening up different areas of my game. I’m enjoying doing that because you can never stop learning as a cricketer. I feel as though I’m as good now as when I was playing international cricket.

“If you’re not improving ten per cent every year I feel as though you’re going backwards, especially the way the game has developed over the past five to ten years. It has moved at a rapid rate. I’ve got to keep improving, everyone has to keep improving to keep up with this powerful game that is so athletic because if you’re not, you’re falling behind.”