Cricket: Collingwood Prepares to Leave Stage

Paul Collingwood approaches the climax of the one-day season feeling increasingly out of step with his England colleagues. While they can hardly contain their excitement about the impending Ashes Tests, Collingwood, unable to lose his label as a limited-overs specialist, is preparing himself for a return to the county back-benches.

Collingwood will have company: Mike Hussey, who has had an equally impressive one-day summer for Australia, will also join Durham's second division championship challenge.

But though Hussey's gritty batting has surely put him next in line for Australia's Test squad, Collingwood's productive summer has left him as far away as ever.

Collingwood has produced two of his best three England bowling performances this season, with four cheap wickets in England's nine-wicket win against Australia at Headingley on Thursday, and his resilient stand with Geraint Jones stole England a tie in Saturday's NatWest Series final at Lord's.

But the Ashes talk has centred around Kevin Pieter-sen, a contender for the last two batting places with Graham Thorpe and Ian Bell, and Pietersen's one-day promotion to No4, indicated to Collingwood that his Test chances were minimal.

Collingwood recognises that a Test chance may never come. "It's still been good to do things to help the guys build towards the Ashes series," he said, "but I would like to be making big runs at No3 or 4. If you do well up there then you are in with a great chance of the Test side.

"I knew it was an immense month for me and if I did well it would put my name in the window. I felt the same way in the one-day series in South Africa.

"But now I see myself finishing around No6 when the World Cup comes around, so I just have to live with it. It would be great to be up at No4, but in the current situation it's just not likely. My batting role in the same side doesn't have the same flair as a Pietersen or a Flintoff. Sometimes what I do is not pretty to watch but you have to understand what your job is in the side."

He is left to contemplate Durham's promotion and a developing England one-day side. "I am confident that we can do well in the next World Cup," he said. "We are heading in the right direction but we can still improve by another 20%."