Collingwood retires from Test cricket

LONDON - England batsman Paul Collingwood, who has struggled for runs in this Test series, has announced his retirement from Test cricket at the end of the fifth Ashes match in Sydney, but will continue to play the one-day game.

Collingwood, 36, announced his retirement after 68 Tests for England stretching over seven years.

He told his teammates this morning and gave an emotional speech to the entire squad on the field before play began as England searched for victory in the final Test.

There was no official release from the England and Wales Cricket Board and it was left to the PA announcer at the SCG to break the news, The Telegraph reports.

“On a personal level, this is a big week for me in Sydney. I’m at the crossroads and what happens in the final Test may well determine what direction I go in,” he said.

“I’m sure by the end of this Test I’ll know more myself and be better able to judge what the general feeling is in terms of where I am as a Test player and the contribution I can still make to the England team in future and what is the best way forward,” he said.

Collingwood’s dismissal in England’s first innings for 13 off 67 deliveries persuaded him his time as a Test player is over but he is on the verge of being a part of a third Ashes series success.

Eoin Morgan, who has been successful in one-day cricket and scored a hundred on his Test debut against Pakistan last summer, is likely to step into Collingwood’s place.

Collingwood retires with a healthy Test average of 40.56 having scored 10 centuries with a highest score of 207 in the Adelaide Ashes Test four years ago. (ANI)