Collingwood takes up Scotland coaching role

Paul Collingwood, the former England batsman, will begin his coaching education by taking up a post with Scotland over the winter.

Collingwood recently led Durham to the Championship title and still has one year left on his contract but, rather than pursue T20 deals or media work in the off season, he will lend the experience of more than 200 limited-overs internationals to Scotland's attempts to qualify for the World Twenty20 and World Cup.

In addition to 68 Tests, Collingwood is England's most-capped player in ODIs, with 197 appearances, and he also captained England to victory at the 2010 World T20. He could provide a valuable resource as the Associate nation tries to reach a global ICC tournament for the first time since 2009.

The qualifier for the 2014 World T20 takes place in the UAE in November, with the qualifier for the 2015 World Cup following in New Zealand in January. Collingwood will play a full part in both the preparation and competition phases of both tournaments, working alongside Scotland's head coach, Peter Steindl, and fielding coach/performance analyst Toby Bailey.

In addition to Collingwood, Craig Wright, the current Under-19s coach and former Scotland captain, will join in the role of bowling coach.

''Leading into two vital qualifying events, I was very keen to change things up a bit, add a couple of new voices to the coaching team and bring in coaches who had attained success at the very highest levels of the game," Steindl said.

"Paul has been part of successful teams as a player and a captain and it will be great to have his experience and knowledge on board. We identified Paul as a person we were very keen to secure and I am delighted he agreed to join us for the winter. I am sure he will be a hugely positive influence on the squad as we head into some really important cricket.''

Collingwood, who has also played limited-overs cricket for teams in India, Australia and South Africa, added: ''I am very excited at the prospect of working with the Scotland squad over the coming months and look forward to helping the team qualify for both the World T20 and the 2015 World Cup.''

Keith Oliver, chairman of Cricket Scotland said: ''Following discussions with Paul, we are convinced he will add real value to the coaching team and the playing squad. As a vastly experienced player and World Cup-winning captain , he will bring skills which will complement the existing team of coaches as we seek to qualify for two World Cups.''

The Scotland team will leave for Sri Lanka on October 27 for a training camp before the World T20 qualifier starts, before arriving in Dubai on November 9. Scotland play two warm-up matches, against USA and Namibia before their first Group B game against Bermuda on November 15.