| One of the first names on the ODI team-sheet, Collingwood has played his way back into Test contention with some excellent 2005 form for Durham and England.
An all-rounder in the modern mould, the amiable 29-year-old is a brilliant ‘finisher’ with the bat in the shorter form of the game, bowls intelligent medium pace and is one of the world’s very best fielders.
He has been a part of the one-day set-up since 2001, averaging over 32 with the bat and a touch more with the ball in 80 one-day appearances.
It was two years later when he really cemented his place as a rare reason to be cheerful during the doomed 2003 World Cup campaign, though the summer rather passed him by due to a dislocated shoulder.
Lively character and intelligence in all areas of play make Collingwood an archetypal one-day player but he could easily be labelled a “bits-and-pieces” cricketer by those sceptical of his Test credentials.
A decent championship performer for Durham, he has never had a realistic hope of wresting the all-rounder’s berth from Andrew Flintoff when the Lancastrian is fit and firing.
Initially his Test hope came as a specialist batsman, those 2003 performances earning a central contract and winter in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka following his recovery from injury.
Prior to this summer his only two Test performances came on that tour, he was dropped after failing to make an impression in an uninspired team lucky to escape with a 1-0 defeat from three-matches against Hashan Tillakaratne’s men.
Despite his growing stature at one-day level, those failures in Sri Lanka and the emergence of Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen have effectively put paid to his hopes of a Test return as a top-five batsman.
But this England set-up has never been afraid to innovate and the attraction of abandoning a traditionally balanced XI for the strength in depth by provided by jack-of-all-trades Collingwood is obvious.
The Durham man offers inventive batting, breathtaking acrobatics at point or gully and much-needed character, though his bowling opportunities will be limited in the five-day game.
In addition he has shown a stomach for the big occasion, adding to his reputation with a brilliant 53 to salvage a dramatic tie with Australia in this summer’s NatWest Series final.
A regular saviour in one-day cricket, England may turn to Collingwood to reprise the role in the Ashes. |
