Sunday, August 3, 2008

Collingwood ends one-day captaincy

Paul Collingwood's time as one-day has not always been easy and without controversy.

Paul Collingwood's time as England one-day captain has come to end on the same day as Michael Vaughan's Test reign. He said he'd stepped down after feeling the captaincy was affecting his performances.

It means England will have new leaders in both forms of the game when the selectors make their announcement at Lord's on Monday. Collingwood took on the role last year against West Indies, after Vaughan resigned the one-day job, and his initial results were promising with series victories against India at home and Sri Lanka away.

However, England had a poor World Twenty20 and have suffered back-to-back series defeats against New Zealand. Collingwood also became embroiled in controversy against New Zealand when he insisted on appealing for Grant Elliott's run out at The Oval after he'd been knocked to the ground by Ryan Sidebottom. He later admitted his error, but following the match picked up a four-game suspension for a slow over-rate. Kevin Pietersen took over for the final ODI against New Zealand and is now favourite to become the new full-time captain, as well as lead in Tests.

"I've made the decision to step down as England's one-day captain as I want to give myself the best chance to perform for England and enjoy my cricket," Collingwood said. "Whilst I am humbled to have been given the opportunity to captain England's one-day side, I feel the captaincy diminished my ability to perform for England across all forms of the game. I feel the England captaincy impacted on my ability to enjoy my cricket and contribute to the team."

Collingwood returned to form in the Test arena with his 135 in the second innings at Edgbaston after being on the brink of losing his place. "I've always enjoyed representing my country at the highest level," he said, "and it has always been my ambition to play cricket, across all forms of the game, but I've found the extra workload of the captaincy to be very difficult.

"The last thing I want is for the captaincy to impact my performance and that of the team's which is why I've arrived at this decision after a huge amount of consideration. I will continue to make myself available to England for all forms of cricket and look forward to playing a significant role in England's future success."

Hugh Morris, managing director of England cricket, said: "Paul feels this is the best decision in terms of benefiting the England team and his contribution to the team, across all forms of the game.

"We are extremely grateful for the way in which Paul has led the England one-day side since his appointment last year. The team has made real progress under his leadership and he will continue to be a valuable member of the England set-up."