England Cricket / Ralph Ellis / 09 September 2009 /

Winning the Ashes has taken it's toll on England and you shouldn't back them in their ODI series with Australia, says Ralph Ellis.

When they brought in central contracts for the England cricketers, the object was to reduce the risk of injuries through fatigue. The top bowlers, especially, were being forced to dash from Test arenas in frantic motorway journeys to join up and get straight to the end of their long run for their county teams. It was taking too much of a toll on knees, ankles, and backs.

Now there's strict control from the England management on keeping the big stars away from their counties. Which would be a great help, if it wasn't for the fact that they are simply flogging them to death with an endless series of international matches instead.

If it's Wednesday, England must be playing another game somewhere today. Oh yes, it's the third of the NatWest Series at the Rose Bowl. Don't rush to back them, even at [2.44], because after the excitement of winning the Ashes they've been playing like what they are - a team that's knackered from a big effort and being forced to work its way round another series to earn a few more quid for their paymasters.

Nobody has put in more than Paul Collingwood, and this morning comes news that even England's Mr Perpetual Motion and most consummate professional is beginning to feel the toll. It's partly his own fault, because he was one of those who grabbed the chance to earn an extra few quid playing in the Indian Premier League in April. That venture returned to haunt both Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, and now it's got a sting in the tail for Collingwood too.

Delhi's success means he's due to play for them in the Champions League in October, and at the moment the Indian team are insisting they want to enforce the contract. Collingwood's people are trying to get him out of it.

This morning's Sun reveals the dilemma, with their long serving cricket writer John Etheridge quoting a source in his management saying: "Paul is very tired. He has had a long, hard year. Frankly he looks knackered and we're still hoping Delhi will relent. The money he could win is not an issue for him."

There won't be too much sympathy for Collingwood, because if the money wasn't an issue he probably shouldn't have signed up in the first place. But his problem is a symptom of the ridiculous treadmill that England's cricket team is on. Since the start of the year they've played a Test and One Day series in the West Indies, two Test series including the Ashes at home, and still have four more ODIs to go in the next fortnight before jetting to South Africa for the Champions Trophy.

Hardly surprising that only West Indies at [20.0] are a bigger price than England's [13.0] for that adventure. Meanwhile hosts and [4.1] favourites South Africa are totally rested - they haven't played an international since losing the World Twenty20 semi-final to Pakistan in June.

Five things you might not know about Paul Collingwood

1. Born in the tiny County Durham village of Shotley Bridge, his dad David, who convinced him to play cricket rather than football, is still a member of the local club

2. An all-round sportsman, his golf handicap is five

3. Married with two daughgters, he was fined £1,000 for visiting a lap dancing club in South Africa on the eve of a Twenty20 match. "I had one drink at the bar and thought: "I need to get out of this place,'" he said.

4. His nickname is 'Shep', after Blue Peter's original collie dog.

5. The most recent album he bought was Kings of Leon, but he's not a big music fan. The other England players gave him stick this summer for not knowing who Lily Allen was.

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