Collingwood appointed Durham four-day captain

By Tim Wellock

Paul Collingwood has been handed the task of preserving Durham’s Division One LV County Championship status after their disastrous start to the season. He is to take over from Phil Mustard as the four-day captain, starting with the match at Worcester next Tuesday (July 10-13).

Collingwood hasn’t played since he broke a finger in the last Championship match a month ago when struck by a ball from Warwickshire’s Chris Wright. But he has made a good recovery and said: “I'm excited to have the opportunity to use my experience to help us progress in the County Championship and get us back to winning ways.”

After four defeats and four draws, Durham have 32 points, compared with 139 at the same stage last season. They are six adrift of Worcestershire, who have a game in hand, and a further 14 behind third from bottom Surrey.

After making 80 in the opening match at home to Nottinghamshire, Mustard has a top score of 45 in 12 innings. He had held the reins since he was the surprise choice when the captaincy was suddenly taken off Will Smith in May 2010.

Durham coach Geoff Cook said: “We're delighted that Paul has agreed to take on the captaincy. His international experience is an excellent asset to the team at a time when we need to be delivering our best results.

“We are grateful for Phil Mustard's efforts as captain and he remains an integral part of the team as a key contributor behind the stumps and with the bat.”

It was thought that Collingwood might take on the captaincy at the start of the season, but he expected to be away at the Indian Premier League until the end of May.

As it turned out, he was not required and, assuming he is available for the whole of next season, there is every reason to expect he will continue as captain. He led the team in the first three Clydesdale Bank 40 matches this season when one-day captain Dale Benkenstein was injured.

 

Date: 02/07/2012 19:07:59 by Tim Wellock
In: Today | Durham |