22 Jun 2011

Collingwood and Prior axed by England

12:15 pm on 22 June 2011

The former captain Paul Collingwood and wicketkeeper Matt Prior have been dropped from England's squads for upcoming one-day and Twenty20 cricket internationals against Sri Lanka.

Wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter and all-rounder Samit Patel have been recalled for both squads while fast bowler Steven Finn is also a surprise selection.

Collingwood, who retired from test cricket at the start of the year, is England's most capped one-day player but has been out with a knee injury.

The veteran all-rounder retired from Test duty after England's victorious Ashes campaign in Australia but was included in the World Cup squad.

However, upon his return home after England's 10-wicket quarter-final thrashing by Sri Lanka, Collingwood was stripped of the Twenty20 captaincy - despite leading the side to the World Twenty20 title in the West Indies last year - and replaced as skipper by leadership novice Stuart Broad.

National selector Geoff Miller says Collingwood has been an inspirational limited-overs cricketer for England over many years and the selectors still see a role for him in this capacity based on form and fitness, adding his omission was purely down to form.

Kieswetter's return at the expense of Prior had been widely expected as England's test keeper has struggled to reproduce his best form in the limited-overs game.

Bowler James Anderson has retained his place after being left out during the recent World Cup.

England play a solitary Twenty20 against Sri Lanka on June the 25th before embarking on a five-match one-day series starting June the 28th.