6 Jan 2011

Collingwood to retire from Test cricket

3:03 pm on 6 January 2011

The England middle-order batsman Paul Collingwood is to retire from Test cricket after the current fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.

The 34-year-old told team-mates of his decision following the third day's play against Australia at the SCG on Wednesday after a difficult tour and an official announcement was made on Thursday.

Collingwood has played 68 Tests for England scoring 4259 runs at 40.56 including a career-best 206 at the Adelaide Oval against Australia in the 2006-07 Ashes tour.

But the right-hander has been one of the few English players to struggle for form this summer, scoring a paltry 83 runs at 13.83 in the Ashes series.

Collingwood will continue to play the shorter forms of the game for his country, including the one-day international and Twenty20 series against Australia which follow the Ashes.

The first one-dayer between England and Australia is on Saturday, January the 16th at the MCG.