Collingwood follows Vaughan out
Sunday, 03 Aug 2008 20:00
Paul Collingwood quits as England ODI captain
Paul Collingwood has followed Michael Vaughan's lead by quitting as captain of England's one-day international side.
Minutes after Vaughan announced his five-year stint as captain of the Test side was over, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Collingwood was quitting as well.
Collingwood became captain of the ODI team last year when Vaughan opted to concentrate on the Test arena.
The ECB said the ODI team had made "real progress" under the Durham all-rounder's stewardship.
As he announced his intention to step down as Test captain, Vaughan had hinted at Collingwood's decision when he said it was 'inconsistent' to have two captains at international level.
"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 in a written statement.
"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.
"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."
A replacement for both Vaughan and Collingwood will be announced tomorrow.