Collingwood: Captaincy affected my cricket
Monday, 04 Aug 2008 09:08
Paul Collingwood quit England captaincy because it 'impacted his ability to enjoy cricket'
Paul Collingwood has admitted he was forced to quit as England one-day captain because the extra workload had begun to affect his play.
The Durham all-rounder already had a high workload within the team as he was used as a middle-order batsman, a bowler and a close-catching fielder with the one-day and Test sides.
And he said the added responsibility of leading the team in the shorter versions of the game meant he was no longer enjoying the experience of playing for his country.
"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," he 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.
"I've always enjoyed representing my country at the highest level 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 teams which is why I've arrived at this decision after a huge amount of consideration."
Collingwood's revelation is likely to be a worry for England fans who fear the impact of the captaincy being given to one of the team's top performers.
Players such as all-rounder Andrew Flintoff or star batsman Kevin Pietersen are the favourites to be given the skipper's role.
However, it is thought this may mean a similar drop in their performances in future as the burden of the captaincy takes its toll.