PAUL Collingwood has backed Liam Plunkett to be a "great Test bowler" despite his Durham team-mate's omission from the England squad to face West Indies at Riverside.

Plunkett finally paid the price for below-par displays in the last two Tests when he was axed in favour of Matthew Hoggard for the final Test, which begins at Chester-le-Street on Friday.

Despite England's dominance over their bedraggled opponents, the Durham paceman claimed just seven wickets in his three outings, with last weekend's wayward display at Old Trafford proving the final straw for the selection committee.

While England's new-look pace attack attempt to wrap up a 3-0 series win in the North-East, Plunkett will be at the opposite end of the country as Durham return to county championship action against Hampshire on the south coast.

Collingwood accepts that the 22-year-old needs time to hone his action after making just 45 first-class appearances in what has been a whirlwind career.

But as he prepares to make only his second Riverside appearance of the season, the Shotley Bridge-born all-rounder has also backed Plunkett to become a leading Test player in the future.

"Liam is someone who has not played a lot of international cricket," said Collingwood.

"He doesn't have a lot of experience and, in that situation, you can start to question things when things aren't going quite as well as planned.

"He has done fantastically well in county cricket, and I have absolutely no doubt that he will go on to become a great bowler at Test level in the future.

"He has to go back to county cricket, groove his action and get his belief going all over again. If he does that, then when he comes back into the Test side, he's going to be the complete all-round package."

Plunkett has not been the only Durham player to have come under fire in recent weeks, as Steve Harmison was heavily criticised for an error-strewn opening spell in the first innings of last weekend's Test.

The 'Ashington Express' conceded seven wides and four byes in his opening over on Friday afternoon, but returned to something approaching his best in the West Indies' second innings.

The capture of two wickets in the space of four balls quashed any hopes of a record-breaking comeback from the tourists, and cemented Harmison's status as one of the likeliest match-winners in the England side.

"Everybody knows what a world-class bowler Steve Harmison is," said Collingwood. "And when some people were starting to get a little bit nervous in that second innings, he showed it yet again.

"In the last few weeks, everyone has resorted to saying that Steve has got technical issues. But confidence is the biggest thing in professional sport and, when you haven't got it, you're bound to be running in wondering what's going to happen.

"There'll be doubts at the back of your mind, and you'll be questioning whether you can still bowl at 90mph in the right areas.

"It's hard to be in that position, but Harmy got better and better in the last Test. The confidence is coming back and although he's not 100 per cent yet, he's moving in the right direction.

"He's put in a lot of work behind the scenes, and it's really paying off. He's getting right back to where the old Steve Harmison used to be."

Harmison will be making his third Test appearance at Riverside this weekend, having claimed 12 wickets in his two previous internationals on the ground.

The five-day Test is scheduled to finish on Tuesday, but the 28-year-old could be back at Chester-le-Street 24 hours later to represent Durham in the semi-finals of the Friends Provident Trophy

Geoff Cook's side will face the runners-up in the competition's southern section as they attempt to reach their first Lord's final