Collingwood hoping to be involved in England set-up
Paul Collingwood hopes he has a future in England’s new coaching set-up but has warned the team’s schedule is at risk of breaking players “physically and emotionally”.
Collingwood has just wrappedupamonthincharge oftheTestsideasinterimhead coach and is waiting to hear what role he will play following a 1-0 series defeat in the West Indies.
A new director of cricket is currently being recruited, withDurham’sMarcusNorth, former England batter Rob KeyandMarkNicholasamong those linked with the post, with the successful candidate likely to appoint specialists to look after the red and white ball teams.
Collingwood’s name is in the frame, with the limitedovers job his most obvious landingplace,andhehasbeen enthused by his experience in the Caribbean.
“I’ve put my hat in the ring andiftheywantme,theyknow where I am,” he said.
“They’ve seen what I can do. I haven’t got much experience as a head coach, but you would never get a job if that was the case. I feel as though what I’ve done over the last few weeks is a good start but it’s only a start.
“It’s very rewarding, I promise you. I can imagine if youstartwinningandturnthe corner, the satisfaction you’d getfromthatwouldbeincredible.It’sstressfulbuttheupside
is very rewarding.
“If I was to take this team forwardI’dwanttomakethem a lot better as quickly as possible.There’salotofspeculation on the way they’re going to do it and that will come from the managing director.
“Nobody knows until you get that clarity, so it’s important to have that moving forward so everybody understands how we’re going to go about it.”
One issue the hierarchy will have to focus on is England’sincreasinglyexhausting schedule. Increasingly, England will need to run separate squads as Test and limitedovers commitments intersect and decisions over how andwheretoutiliseall-format players will become trickier.
Improving the fortunes of a Test side that has won just once in its last 17 matches is a clear priority but, with a T20 World Cup later this year and the 50-over title defence in Indiain2023,thereisnoobvious let up. Next winter alone, England have six separate touring commitments across four countries.
Star all-rounder Ben Stokes took a hiatus from the game last year to look after his mentalhealthandgethisbody backtofullfitnessandCollingwoodofferedastarkreminder about the stakes involved.
“I’m sure the new coach will want to pick best team he can possibly have but if you look at that fixture list, we’re going to have to be very careful,” he said.
“Have a look at the fixture list: we’re going to blow a lot of players out of the water very quickly. Ben Stokes has been a prime example.
“If players continue to do thatthey’llbreak;they’llbreak physicallyandemotionally.So we’ve got to be a little bit careful to say ‘get the best team on the park every time’ because that fixture list moving forward is horrific.
“We’re all playing Covid catch-up. We all know that. It’s going to be hectic for the next two years because we’ve got to catch-up on games and organisationsneedtocatchup on money.”