Tenacious, hard-working, honest - Collingwood is all these things, but is that enough for a Test player

Profiles / Paul Moon / 02 June 2008 / Leave a Comment

Paul Moon is not convinced Colly can flower any longer in the long form of the game

I appreciate Paul David Collingwood MBE (born 26 May 1976) as a sportsman and a person - unfazed by either adversity or success he is the ultimate team man. This modest, doughty, wholehearted trier has made the most of himself and worked hard to establish himself as a Test player.

Sportsmen that are called tenacious, hard working and honest can be double speak for lacking necessary class ... and in this case that is an accurate description! I never considered him a Test cricketer but he has deserved his chance and done reasonably well in a weak era of English cricketers. If he were a racehorse he would be a very good handicapper but not group class.

Looking closely at this Test match record one thing stands out - his deprived bowling! Just 14 wickets in 35 matches at an average of 44.64 is not a proper return. There is no room for village dibbly dobbly in Test cricket these days. It is imperative that you have an incisive skill and variation that offers some penetration. He offers virtually nothing as a Test match bowler therefore his batting comes under closer inspection.

I cannot explain his double hundred at Adelaide against Warne in the 2007 Ashes, for me it was a freak score! His batting did secure the decisive draw at the Oval when England won the Ashes in 2005 but generally he does not warrant a 41.34 average, his skill quotient is a bit below that. His default approach to batting is to nudge and nurdle the ball into gaps and sprint to the other end. He never looks 'in' or comfortable, even on the most benign of pitches. Occasionally he looks embarrassed and out of depth.

I was astonished to see that cricinfo described him as someone who 'loves to hit the ball straight with a tantalising range of strokes up his sleeve'. That led to me doubt my sanity! After looking at videos of some of his innings I have since reassured myself. View: http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/10772.html

Most worrying is the form of Collingwood. He is so badly out of form that he laughed at his misjudgements at Old Trafford. He has long-standing problems with his right shoulder, which needed an injection before the Lord's Test amid fears he may subsequently need an operation. He is yet to score a half-century in any form of cricket this season and has now gone 22 innings without a Test century (only five in total).

For the moment the selectors are staying loyal and trotting out that silly line 'form is temporary' but if Collingwood fails to score runs at Trent Bridge it would be almost impossible to select him against a far stronger side in South Africa later this summer. And there is more bad news, the pitch at Trent Bridge will not help him at all! Everyone has laboured on this bowling friendly track this season.

I thought New Zealand blew the second Test at Old Trafford and should have won. These are two poor teams and should Collingwood fail again it is just possible that it could signal the end of his Test match career! Prices with Betfair for the third Test show: England [1.77] New Zealand [7] Draw [3.35].

With the 2009 Ashes in mind I would give him a warm handshake and our best wishes. Without hesitation I would have replaced him with Ravi Bopara for the third Test at Trent Bridge. Originally selected too early I believe this fledgling is now ready to resume his international career. His rapid improvement is visible in all aspects of his game. He must play this summer.

In contradiction Collingwood remains an integral part of the England one-day set-up and justifies his selection as a player. His enthusiasm and professional standards have a positive effect in ODIs and that offsets his lack of class in Test matches. I fondly remember his three consecutive match-winning performances at the end of the 2006/7 Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia, and was massively impressed by his nerve and tenacity.

I would not have him as captain, however. His role would be more second lieutenant, cook or cheerleader. He would be my bits and pieces man. I believe the captain of the Test side and the ODI team should be the same person or you fragment continuity. The cupboard is bare and only Kevin Pietersen has the curriculum vitae necessary.

As much as Collingwood is not a Test player I also think that Cook and Bell are not remotely ODI players and should be forgotten and removed altogether. My 12 for this summer ODIs, allowing for fitness would be: Wright, Prior, Pietersen, Shah, Bopara, Collingwood, Swann, Flintoff, Mascarenhas, Broad, Sidebottom and Anderson. Flintoff would bat at number eight at the moment and I would add Blackwell to my twenty20 team/squad.