DURHAM skipper Paul Collingwood confirmed last night that he will continue playing past his 40th birthday next May and is desperate to arrest his team's slump.

They suffered their fourth successive home defeat yesterday, losing by seven wickets to a Hampshire side who arrived in bottom place.

Collingwood has not lost heart, although he did admit that his mental strength was being tested by a run of low scores on tricky Chester-le-Street pitches.

“We are in a position where we are having to test a lot of youngsters by putting them in at the deep end. Ideally we wouldn't want one of them opening the batting here because it can scar them. I've played for 20 years and it's scarring me.

“But I'm desperate to play for another year and it's been verbally agreed. Durham have given me a chance to look at different avenues in the winter and it's the same this year.”

Collingwood is expected to take a coaching role with the England one-day team this winter but insists it will not stop him playing next season.

“I'm still enjoying the challenge,” he said. “Batting-wise I'm mentally drained at the moment, but I still feel I have a lot to offer.

“We play in the least friendly batting conditions in the country. You might say we should be used to it but when you have to do it time and again and you keep making the right decisions and are still getting out it's tough. You start to question yourself.

“When there's a lot of playing and missing it involves a lot of luck and that can make the difference between winning and losing.

“After we won six of our first eight games there was a lot of belief that we could do something special. But a lot of confidence has been sucked out of the batsmen.

“We will prepare for the last two games as though they were the first two and if we can finish with eight wins that would be a tremendous effort with the squad we have. We will go to Trent Bridge next week and hope to put some runs on the board on a good surface.”