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Paul David Collingwood MBE (born 26 May 1976, Shotley Bridge, Durham) is an English cricketer who plays for Durham and England.
An all-rounder who mixes natural strokeplay with the bat with reliable and occasionally dangerous medium-pace bowling, Collingwood has established himself well in the middle order of England's One-day international side since his slightly shaky debut in 2001. He has struggled to make a place for himself in the Test side, though, and has become a regular sight on England's Test tours as 12th man. An athletic and highly skilled fielder of about 5'10", several of the 'caught sub' entries recorded on England's scorecards can be attributed to his appearances on the field as a substitute (although they don't count towards his official statistics).
On 21 June 2005, playing for England against Bangladesh at Nottingham, he scored 112 not out from 86 balls, then took 6-31, the best-ever figures by an Englishman, to become the first player to score a century and take six wickets in a One Day International; Viv Richards had previously scored a hundred and taken five. He usually fields at backward point, where he has pulled off a number of aerial catches.
He came back into the team for the 3rd Test against Pakistan in 2005-6, making his first and second Test 50 in both innings in a losing cause, while so far in the ODI series he along with Durham teammates Liam Plunkett and Steve Harmison have accounted for the majority of wickets through their bowling and fielding. Born and bred in Durham it was only fitting that he should join his local county side, where he became an instant favourite.
He was swift to make an impression on the first-class game, taking the wicket of former England all-rounder David Capel with his first ball, and scoring 91 in his first innings against Northamptonshire.
Collingwood was also voted Player of the Year by the Durham members in 2000, particularly for his one-day efforts.
A back injury then saw his form peak and trough but in 2001 he found his groove and dazzled in the county championship and the one-day game.
Indeed, his one-day form earned him national recognition and he was selected for the NatWest Series against Pakistan and Australia.
Despite finding the step-up to international cricket a daunting experience, the selectors showed their confidence in his ability by choosing him for the one-day tour of Zimbabwe, where he starred as England secured a 5-0 whitewash.
By now Collingwood had become an integral part of the England one-day set-up and it was only a matter of time before he earned a call-up to the Test squad.
However, luck deserted him when he dislocated his right shoulder while fielding in a pre-season friendly against Lancashire and he was forced to miss most of the 2003 season.
Nevertheless, he was awarded a 12-month ECB contract when the winter touring squads were announced for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka where he would make his long-awaited Test debut.
And he has become an England regular ever since, touring the West Indies with his country as Michael Vaughan’s men secured their first ever Test series victory in the Caribbean.
He retained his place in England's one-day side throughout the summer of 2004 and scored an unbeaten 79 in the second match of the NatWest Challenge against India at The Oval as the home side won the series 2-1.
Collingwood was also England's second highest run-scorer in the Champions Trophy with 141 at an average of 70.5, which included an unbeaten 80 in the opening game against Zimbabwe.
Retained his place throughout the winter of 2004/5 and played in all 11 one-day internationals against Zimbabwe and South Africa before being named in the England Development Squad in May 2005 - and the 14-man squad for The NatWest Series and the NatWest International Twenty20 against Australia.
He got into his stride and once again proved that he is one of the best fielders in the world by pulling off a fantastic leaping catch at point to dismiss Australia's Matthew Hayden in England's second NatWest Series match and second win. But it was in their next match that he really stole the headlines.
In the 2006 New Year's Honours List, Paul Collingwood was awarded the MBE for his role in the successful Ashes competition.