Collingwood should never lead again

Jun 27 2008 By Jack Bannister

The ban on Paul Collingwood for four one-day internationals, starting with the Lord’s game against New Zealand on Saturday, could spell the end of his limited overs career, and puts a big question mark about the captaincy when he is available again for the last three ODIs against South Africa in August.

His enforced admission, followed by a Twenty20 match and two ODIs against South Africa, gives the selectors time and space to plan ahead without him.

In the meantime, they have opted to hand the captaincy to Kevin Pietersen, while calling up Andrew Strauss as batting cover.

It is ironic that Collingwood is forced to step down for his responsibility for England’s poor bowling rate when his blood is being called for concerning the awful run-out of Grant Elliott at the Oval two days ago.

The row rumbles on about his refusal to withdraw the appeal despite lengthy conversations with the umpire – Mark Benson the former England and Kent batsman. The three- or four-minute delay while Elliott received treatment made a nonsense of Collingwood’s plea in an apology forced upon him by the reaction of the New Zealand dressing room, that “I had to make a split-second decision and now know I got it wrong.”

Split-second? The minutes spent talking to Benson and several England players revealed more than he realised when he failed to see the bigger picture as Elliott limped from the field.

Had Andrew Flintoff or Andrew Strauss been on the field, their instinct for the right thing to do would have prevailed, but Collingwood and the rest were incapable of recognising the damage they were doing to the game of cricket and themsleves. My sources tell me that not one England player disagreed with his refusal to call Elliott back, and that tells all about the growingly rotten environment in the Team England dressing room.

The win-at-all-costs approach is supposed to have been nicked from Australia. Let the reader accompany this writer back to an Ashes Test match at Trent Bridge in 1964.

England’s makeshift opening pair were Geoffrey Boycott and all-rounder Fred Titmus. Titmus collided with the bowler and was floored a la Elliot. The ball was thrown to wicketkeeper Wally Grout – no shrinking violet – but he refused to break the wicket and the first-wicket partnership became worth 38.

Instinct for the right action at the right time, you see? As distinct from Wednesday when Collingwood and his team grubbed their way to a wicket in a reprehensible manner. In military terms, a cricket captain promoted from the ranks can only succeed if the person’s mindset enables him to climb above close friendships.

The Durham man has not shown such qualities, and his inability to accept a gypsy’s warning from the umpire makes him totally unfit to ever captain England again.