Plunkett (left), Collingwood (centre) and Smith (right) have won two titles

Durham captain Will Smith believes the club can cope with the absence of the county's England players in their defence of the Championship title.

The duo of Liam Plunkett and Paul Collingwood are away with the national side, and Smith hopes other players can take their chance to impress.

"It gives opportunities to other guys in and around the squad while they're away," Smith told BBC Newcastle.

"But if we do get the England lads for a period of time it will be a bonus."

Bowler Graham Onions was also in the England squad for the tour of Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates but was released from the squad following a back injury.

Meanwhile, having retained the title last year with an unbeaten run in the County Championship, Durham are bidding to become the first county to win a hat-trick of titles since Yorkshire between 1966-68.

And Smith is confident the squad will return from the winter break with the same enthusiasm and determination to secure the title they showed during the past two successful seasons.

"The main thing is not to let our sights get too high. We've got to start again right from ball one in the first game," Smith said.

"We've done fantastically well in the past three years but that's all swept under the carpet now. We need to treat this season as a separate entity.

"We'll be doing that. Everyone's so motivated and personally driven anyway they'll be wanting to improve themselves and our own game. If we do that, we'll improve as a team as a result.

"Hopefully, we'll string together another run of form like we did last year and things will go our way again."

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