Collingwood joins Scotland World Cup campaign

Scotland will go to the 2015 World Cup with England's leading ODI run-scorer in their camp, after Paul Collingwood agreed to rejoin their coaching staff. Collingwood helped Scotland qualify for the tournament in an interim role last winter and, despite deciding to continue his playing career, will be back to assist head coach Grant Bradburn in Australia and New Zealand.

After his initial success with Scotland, Collingwood was drafted in as England's fielding coach at the World T20. Their exit from that tournament, following defeat by Netherlands, spelled the end for Ashley Giles' period as limited-overs coach and Collingwood returned to Durham, helping the county win the Royal London Cup and signing a one-year contract extension.

With both England and Scotland in World Cup Pool A, Collingwood's presence will give an added edge to their fixture on February 23 in Christchurch. Calum MacLeod, one of the stars of Scotland's qualification campaign, credited Collingwood with improving his game and they have several other talented batsmen for him to work with.

"It's a great pleasure for me to be back on the coaching team with the Scotland squad for the 2015 World Cup," Collingwood said. "I'm very much looking forward to working with them to help get the team fully prepared for these incredibly important matches."

As well as being one of England's best fielders, Collingwood proved himself to be a resilient and resourceful batsman, scoring 5092 ODI runs and more than 4000 in Tests. He also led England to their only global limited-overs silverware, at the 2010 World T20. His last international appearance came at the 2011 World Cup, after which he also lost the T20 captaincy.

Scotland have never beaten a Full Member in 50-over cricket but will look to follow the example of Ireland and cause an upset in Australia and New Zealand. The 2015 tournament will be their third World Cup appearance and they have already begun preparations, beating Tasmania and Wellington on a recent month-long tour.

"We are fortunate to once again have the valuable services of Paul Collingwood on board with us for the World Cup," Bradburn said. "Paul will bring a calmness and confidence to our environment and is very familiar with all of our players having been a support coach with Scotland during the World Cup qualifiers in February. The World Cup will be a massive stage for our players to step out onto and release their vast natural skills. Having the experience of Paul in our corner will be a huge asset for all of us during this event."