COLLINGWOOD ROLLS BACK THE YEARS... AS FANS BACK HIM FOR ASHES NOD

England's fielding coach had to fill in as a substitute following injury to Jake Ball in a warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI

Paul Collingwood pulled on England whites for the first time in nearly seven years in Adelaide... and now some fans want him in the Ashes squad.

The Durham veteran returned to the scene of his 2006 Test double-century as part of the tourists' backroom staff this week but ended up having to do a stint in the field following injury to Jake Ball.

Positioned at mid-on and sporting the unusual trainer-sock look, the 41-year-old no longer moves quite as freely as he did during his peak but his groundwork remained as clean as ever, as he got down to prevent Matthew Short whipping Mason Crane through the leg side for four.

The sight of Collingwood in the wild moved some fans to suggest England should consider him for a shock recall to bolster a fragile batting line-up Down Under.

^{Paul Collingwood in action in the field for England in Adelaide}

^{Collingwood was called on following injury to Jake Ball}

A wild Paul Collingwood appears 👀😂

Watch the second session live ▶️ https://t.co/9D1QXEMSUg pic.twitter.com/vQwo21fMMC

— BT Sport Cricket (@btsportcricket) November 9, 2017

The former one-day international and T20 skipper is still a regular on the county circuit, and averaged 49.41 for Durham in Division Two of the County Championship in 2017.

And while the chances of the England fielding coach being restored to the playing ranks are pretty low, some supporters have given Colly their backing.

Neil Virani wrote "part of me would really love to see @Colly622 come out at 6 in 2 wks", while Dean Atkinson added "I’m all for Paul Collingwood coming into the ashes squad".

Collingwood, who was awarded an MBE after being part of the victorious 2005 Ashes squad, revealed that fitting into whites for his brief run-out on Thursday was a bit of a squeeze.

“They weren’t my England whites; they were Mason Crane’s England whites and he’s a bit smaller and shorter than me so I squeezed into them," he said.

 

Watching the cricket and @Colly622 at mid on making 4 saving stops 😂 Big bet on the aussies for the ashes #injuries #whitewash #Ashes2017 #devastated

— Lee Teasdale (@TeasaSafc) November 9, 2017

Part of me would really love to see @Colly622 come out at 6 in 2 wks

— Neil Virani (@NeilVirani) November 9, 2017

Let him have a bat and bowl, he could take Stoakseys role!!!

— Adrian Long (@Adicricket1) November 9, 2017

G'day @ShaneWarne. Did you hear @Colly622 is going to get a knighthood for this great bit of fielding in #Adelaide? He never #droppedtheashes @TheBarmyArmy @englandcricket pic.twitter.com/UAbIHw3vG4

— Dan Crawford (@dancrawford85) November 9, 2017

Collingwood explained how he came to be out in the middle, saying: “You’ve got to do your duty, don’t you. There weren’t too many guys left in the dugout to go out in the middle.

“James Vince didn’t have to go off the pitch but obviously they thought it would be funny if I had to go on the pitch and it was good to be out there for an over.

“I looked around and there wasn’t many left. Moeen Ali’s not fit enough to field, Stuart Broad had just bowled a spell in the nets out the back so he was very tired so it was like ‘Colly, get the whites on’."

“I tried to chase Woakesy down, obviously beat him for pace out to the boundary.

“I must have good genes because I don’t really look after what I eat or drink. It’s good to still keep in shape."

 

MORE FROM THE CRICKETER: England given fresh injury scare as Jake Ball breaks down in Adelaide

^{Some fans have called on the ex-England captain to get an Ashes summons}