Collingwood, the anti-Gower

Paul Collingwood's robustness, his natural inclination to play off the back foot and the lack of flashiness in his batting makes him the typical north-England cricketer, writes Harry Pearson in his blog in the Guardian. He contrasts his style of play with David Gower, the characteristic southerner, with a cavalier approach to the game and a penchant for free-flowing strokeplay.

My dad approves of Collingwood's sensible haircut and the fact he has no visible tattoos or body-piercings. He likes him because he is strong off the back foot. Being strong off the back foot suggests a man who has not been mollycoddled in his youth. Batsmen who have spent their formative years playing on good, true wickets get on the front foot at every opportunity. Those who have been brought up playing on nasty, deceitful wickets prefer to wait and see what happens. They don't take things for granted. They know that every once in a while the ball will jump up unexpectedly and slap them in the chops. Just like life.

Also in the Guardian, former England coach Duncan Fletcher is all praise for Jonathan Trott. There will be the inevitable setbacks, he writes, but the batsman stands to gain from the experience of Collingwood, who set a perfect example of a player overcoming the hurdles to emerge successful again.

The key now for Trott is that he readies himself for the backlash. As he gets more exposure, other sides will be learning more about his weaknesses. South Africa are already going to be coming back stronger and sharper than they were in their last game. There was a sameness about their bowling at Centurion. The returns of Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell are going to give more variety to their attack, adding more bounce and more swing, as well as a left-arm option. These will be new challenges for Trott to tackle.