Paul Collingwood

Am I right in thinking that he only retired from test cricket, or was it international altogether. Watching the Durham/Northants t20 and his medium pace is bossing it!

He's just retired from Test Cricket,yes.

Problem is his batting,he still isn't getting the runs which will force a place back into the England side.

Could still be a handy operator in the field and with the ball.

England won't put him in the side for his bowling and fielding. Theres so many talented players around even if he picks up with his batting i'm not sure he'll get back into England's line up.

Will probably suit him anyway. He's still a cracking player though.

I'm happy with him staying at Durham that's for sure.

Maybe he'll play himself back into limited overs contention, time will tell!

Collingwood is a waste of space.

Give a youngster a go.

sonic_boom10 wrote:Collingwood is a waste of space.

Give a youngster a go.

he can still do a job

sonic_boom10 wrote:Collingwood is a waste of space.

Give a youngster a go.

Like who?

Collingwood isn't on form right now but easily gets into the Durham side.

sonic_boom10 wrote:Collingwood is a waste of space.

Give a youngster a go.

Considering he captained the side to 20/20 success, not bad for a waste of space!

He could definitely do a job for England. I rate his bowling quite highly, especially on slower, lower wickets so I could definitely see him playing and batting say 7 or 8.

In my opinion one of the most overrated players ever to play the game. Lived off a couple of innings and was one of the slowest batters ever, yet was still retained for the 20/20 team and was for a long time a one day specialist, pure stupidity to me. Gotta give the kids a go, James Harris, Chris Woakes and Samit Patel are a couple of younger developing all rounders who could do a good job.

Over-rated?? The guy could bat for hours on end. Takes a lot of mental and physical stamina. Ask Cook. Not many of the current crop can manage that. He has played some splendid innings at Test level over the years. A lot of Test nations would give for player that can save a match. The youngsters need to prove themselves first. If they don't do a job, they will be slated on here no doubt.

legendkillar wrote:

sonic_boom10 wrote:Collingwood is a waste of space.

Give a youngster a go.

Considering he captained the side to 20/20 success, not bad for a waste of space!

It's a good job he captained the side to success, as he certainly didn't contribute to the team's succes with his batting.

An interesting debate. We often complain that the likes of pieterson is too flashy and cannot be relied upon to play a gritty innings when the situation demands it. Here we have the complete opposite, a player who is more than the sum of his parts, because of his mental strength. And yet we still complain. He was never the most talented England player in the team, but he did bring the grit and determination that every team must have.

Good point Italy - sums it up well. People do like to have their cake and eat it.

Similarly there are ill defined complaints against Bell - eg that he is not assertive enough or only scores the runs when the job is already done. Meanwhile he continues to pile up the runs...

What are the cricket pitches like in Italy? Do the seamers get the ball pasta the bat with great frequency?

Corporalhumblebucket wrote:Good point Italy - sums it up well. People do like to have their cake and eat it.

Similarly there are ill defined complaints against Bell - eg that he is not assertive enough or only scores the runs when the job is already done. Meanwhile he continues to pile up the runs...

What are the cricket pitches like in Italy? Do the seamers get the ball pasta the bat with great frequency?

Most people in Italy don't even know which game cricket is, they often get confused between cricket and polo. There are a few teams around Bologna mainly consisting of asian players. Never managed to get around to joining them as its hard enough to get the wife to let me play football, nevermind a game that she doesn't understand.

Italy - interesting information. As far as your playing cricket is concerned, then sounds like it's a case of hard cheese (presumably parmesan?)

Perhaps we could help out the Italians by combining cricket and polo? Would certainly need hawkeye for any front leg LBWs.... Also would probably be many more hit wicket dismissals where the bails were dislodged by a frisky tail....

Very interesting thread.. Nice Italian perspective

Colly always came good when his back was against the wall... A true fighter someone you'd want in the trenches with you. Past his best though now lets look to the future, will Colly be playing in the next world cup? I doubt it we need to be looking at that event

I just think if needed he could maybe do a job judging by his spell I saw in a t20 match the other day. Of course I think we should look to the future, but if they aren't much kop, then someone like Colly would be a great shout!

[quote="Liam_Main"]

sonic_boom10 wrote:Collingwood is a waste of space.

Give a youngster a go.

Like who?

Collingwood isn't on form right now but easily gets into the Durham side. [/quote

Like Graham Napier who can at least belt the leather off a cricket ball even if he gets out for a low score!

Thats the same Collingwood who just got a century?

OK his first one for his county since 2005for Durham but I guess that means relativly speaking hes on fire right now.

At one time he was a very good player for England, especialy in ODI's. I guess he just didnt know when to quit, doubly when he was no longer able to bowl proper medium pace like he used to and was reduced to the slow wobblers. Right now all thats stopping England being a truely frightening team is a batsman who can take a few wickets once in a while, the Collingwood who for most of his career averaged in the mid 40's wth the bat and for a couple of years had a bowling average to match.

I cant see England going back to him now unless they find themselves despertaly short of experienced one day specialists through injury.
He will retire with the best catching highlights reel in world cricket though, and a world cup. Being a terminal loser was enough to make Atherton the king of Sky, so Colli should get President of TMS or something.