Paul Collingwood

Paul Collingwood

Date of Birth: May 26, 1976, Shotley Bridge, Co Durham  ODI Debut: Against Pakistan at Birmingham in 2001  Bats: Right-hand Bat  Bowls:  Right-arm medium

Paul Collingwood made England's one-day team in 2001. His third Test was the decisive fifth Test against Australia at The Oval, where his responsible batting helped secure the draw that England needed for a first Ashes triumph in 18 years.

Collingwood has risen to become arguably the finest fielder in the world today. Under good conditions his bowling can prove to be dangerous for his opponents, as he proved with a match-winning display of swing bowling in the third one-day game against New Zealand in 2001-02.

He returned for England in the NatWest Challenge series against India in September - where he struck a lusty 79 not out in a winning partnership with Andrew Flintoff. If Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick had been available he wouldn't have played: now he is going to be very hard to drop.