Durham coach Cook hopeful Paul Collingwood will stay
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Durham coach Geoff Cook has said he is optimistic all-rounder Paul Collingwood will stay at the county next season.
Derbyshire are keen to sign the former England one-day captain and the 35-year-old has been given permission by Durham to talk to them.
Cook told BBC Newcastle: "Hopefully his commitment will be with Durham.
"I think it will be, but he is still in a state of deliberation about whether he wants to play any cricket and to what amount he can commit himself."
He added: "I spoke to him a week ago and we weren't talking 'if', it was just a question of the length of the commitment to Durham."
Collingwood is England's most-capped player in one-day internationals (197) and Twenty20 internationals (35).
He is centrally contracted with the ECB until September but has not played for England since March and was replaced as England's Twenty20 captain by Stuart Broad in May.
Championship Division Two strugglers Derbyshire, who tabled a 28-day notice period to speak to Collingwood, have been promising a landmark signing under new chairman Chris Grant.
