Left field

Collingwood exit gives England test dilemma

The retirement of Paul Collingwood from England’s test team was beautifully timed, leaving the selectors with the dilemma of who to replace the versatile batsman but with a long time to contemplate the decision and from a pretty lofty perch.

The 34-year-old brought options with the ball and was arguably the team’s best fielder, so although he has struggled with the bat of late whoever steps into the team has some big boots to fill.

The contenders? Batsman Eoin Morgan will fancy his chances, but all rounder Tim Bresnan must be in with a shout on the back of some fine performances in the last two Ashes tests.

Also in the frame are batsmen Ravi Bopara and youthful all-rounder Adil Rashid.

The addition of an all-rounder would bring balance to the side once batsman Ian Bell and wicketkeeper Matt Prior move up a place each in the order. That would leave a tail comprising Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and then the eventual Collingwood replacement.

The counter-argument is that it would put too much pressure on the top six batsmen to score runs, and therefore an out and out batsman should slot in at number six or seven depending on Prior.

After all, while not a prolific run getter, Collingwood was resolute and stubborn at the crease and until recently was a difficult opponent to dismiss.

Oh, what to do about the Colly wobbles

With the fourth test steaming up on us like Santa’s sleigh with an inebriated Rudolf at the helm, time is running out for England to decide on what to do about a problem like Paul Collingwood.

Is it me or does “Brigadier Block” always seem more out of form than in form?

In his last 12 innings since his century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, “Colly” (who still averages a respectable 41.14 in test cricket) has managed to reach double figures in a test innings on only four occasions, passing 50 just once in that time against Pakistan in Nottingham in the summer.

Marcus North (2 centuries, 2 half-centuries in his last 12 innings) was dropped from the Australian team for lesser crimes against cricket.

However, of Collingwood’s four double-figured scores in that period, he racked up 42 in Adelaide in the second and 11 in Perth last week. Two double-figured scores in two test matches, is the Durham blocker hitting a rich vein of form?

The messages coming out the England camp, as always, are that they are backing their man and not only will he keep his place in the team, but also retain his position at number five in the batting order, despite Ian Bell’s prolific form.

Bell averages 71.15 since his recall during the 2009 Ashes series, and has a lowest score of 53 on this current tour of Australia.

Should England bring back Harmison for Lord’s?

I am probably not the only one arriving at work today with fingers gnawed to the bone following England’s nail-biting escape in the first Ashes test in a stunning finale in Cardiff, capping a memorable opening match to the series.

Despite near domination for five days, Australia failed to capitalise on early England wickets on the final day as the Three Lions’ tail wagged heroically to secure a draw from the jaws of defeat against the old enemy.

It was a harsh result for an Australian team that had made the most of a benign pitch to bat England into submission over three days and create the pressure needed to make the docile wicket look like a minefield when the hosts came to bat in their second innings.

As England fell to 70 for 5 with 40 minutes to go to the lunchbreak on day five and still 169 runs behind Australia’s first innings score, Ricky Ponting must have felt his men had victory in the palm their hands.

However, a typically belligerent 74 from Paul Collingwood, supported by Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann, gave supporters hope that England could dig themselves out of the hole their top order had dug so deep that they were in danger of striking oil.

But just as safety beckoned and with 40 minutes of the day remaining, Collingwood lost his wicket by cutting a Siddle delivery to Hussey at gulley, his first loose shot of a bellicose knock, leaving England’s last two batsmen James Anderson and Monty Panersar to survive the remaining 12 overs.

Feeble England still can’t get to grips with Twenty20

England may argue that they were unlucky to exit the World Twenty20 following a five-wicket defeat by West Indies but the simple truth is that they batted poorly throughout the tournament.

With the honourable exceptions of Ravi Bopara and Kevin Pietersen, the batsmen completely failed to get to grips with the art of scoring runs in this form of the game.

Call it lack of urgency, lack of innovation or lack of skill but the main problems were a shortage of power and the confidence to take calculated risks.

Dmitri Mascarenhas’s bizarre innings against India summed up England’s problem. The burly all-rounder has proved that he is capable of hitting sixes at international level. After a steady start to the innings against India he was promoted up the order to number four, specifically to take on the Indian slow bowlers and boost the run rate with a few lusty blows. Or so we thought.

Instead, Mascarenhas paddled the ball aimlessly around for ones and twos, facing 27 balls for his 25 runs. Far from actually clearing the ropes, he did not even once attempt a big hit. Momentum lost, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood and James Foster, all far more suited to the type of supporting innings Mascarenhas was playing, perished trying to find the boundaries England so desperately needed.

Against India, England’s bowlers performed heroically to pull off an unlikely victory but 24 hours later the tournament hosts found themselves in a similar position against West Indies. A solid platform laid by Bopara and Pietersen simply cried out for sensible attacking batting to lift England to a formidable total. But England went some 50 balls without hitting a single boundary until Stuart Broad hit the last two deliveries of the innings for six and four. Again, England finished at least 20 runs short of a challenging total and West Indies took full advantage.