Promising England paceman Liam Plunkett offered to donate one of his kidneys to his ailing father without caring that it could finish his cricket career.

However, the 21-year-old's father Alan, who suffers from a hereditary kidney disorder, has turned him down, saying he could not jeopardise his son's future in the game.

Plunkett is part of England's 15-man squad for the World Cup and played a key role in its victory over hosts Australia in the recent one-day tri-series finals in February.

Alan, who needs either renal dialysis or a transplant, cannot be helped by his two brothers or a sister as they suffer from the same ailment.

"The only person in my family who could give me a kidney is Liam," the 49-year-old said.

"As soon as he found out he offered me one straight away without any consideration whatsoever about his career. All he was worried about was me and my health and he simply said, 'take one of mine'," Alan was quoted as saying in the Sunday Sun.

"You could not do anything more for a parent but I said, 'thanks but no thanks'. It was an amazing thing to do but I could not accept because I'd be worried it would affect his cricket career. It could have set him back a long way but he was not concerned about that at all," he added.

Liam, on his part, said: "with close family on their death bed you would, wouldn't you?

"He said he wouldn't take it because of the career I have ahead of me. I was fully prepared but he wouldn't accept it anyway."