LIAM Plunkett's return to action with Durham has been delayed until Friday on the advice of the England hierarchy.

An unchanged squad will contest today's final group game in the Friends Provident Trophy at Edgbaston, with Plunkett joining them for the championship match at the Rose Bowl.

"After a five-day Test, plus the disappointment of being left out of the next one, it would have been quite tough for Liam to get straight on the bus to travel with us," said Durham coach Geoff Cook.

"He's quite philosophical about it. He wants to get back to playing for us on Friday. As with Steve Harmison, his performances for us this season have been smashing, so we just hope he can relax and bowl as well as we know he can."

Cook's enquiries about whether Harmison and Paul Collingwood will be available for next Wednesday's Friends Provident semi-final have not yet produced a definite answer and it could hinge on how long the Riverside Test lasts.

Durham's ten-match unbeaten run in both forms of the game stretches back to the end of April, and they are determined to keep it going today, even though they don't need to win.

Although they have lost once in the competition, against Derbyshire, they have had the good fortune not to have any games rained off and have won seven out of eight.

Warwickshire have had two washed out, so even if they win today and draw level with Durham's points total they will finish second because of their lower number of wins.

A Durham win will allow Nottinghamshire to go through to visit the winners of the southern group, assuming they beat Lancashire today.

Brad Hodge, who made one in both innings at Riverside last week, hit his third century in five Friends Provident games for Lancashire against Derbyshire on Sunday, but his aggregate of 410 runs is still 16 behind the leader, Durham's Phil Mustard.

The wicketkeeper doesn't have as high an average as Hodge because his runs have come from eight innings, with a top score of 108 at Northampton.

But with a semi-final to come, he has every chance of finishing as the competition's top run scorer, while he is five clear as the leading wicketkeeper in the championship with 31 victims.

Squad: D M Benkenstein (capt), M J Di Venuto, W R Smith, G J Muchall, K J Coetzer, S B Styris, P Mustard, G R Breese O D Gibson, P J Wiseman, G Onions, M Davies, N Killeen.

Tickets for the semi final will be available from 9am tomorrow at a temporary box office outside the ground at gate 5 or online at www.durhamccc.co.uk http://www.durhamccc.co.uk/, or by calling 0870 389 1991.