In praise of Colly

From Matt Fennell, Australia
As a young Australian Cricketer i was coached with the ideology that the poms were to be beaten at all costs and no quarter to be given. However, I can not help but admire the talent, determination and courage of one Paul Collingwood under immense pressure after being omitted from the previous Test match. Having witnessed his well-compiled 200 against my beloved Australians in Adelaide in the 2006-07 Ashes, I could not help but feel compelled to emulate his courageous style of batting.

While not always the most attractive or pure of strokeplay, he maintains a gutsy determination through any style of opposition attack from and refuses to give in. As I am studying at university away from home I am unable to watch as much international test cricket as I wish but I do check online scorecards regularly. I must admit, though he is an exceptional player and I am sure it was filled with much more dashing strokeplay, I had not noticed the fact that Pietersen had scored 94 runs until a day after I initially checked the score. Instead I was drawn to the fact that Paul Collingwood, a cricketer recognised as a fighter by most, if not all, cricketing nations, had scored a spectacular hundred while under the pump (not to mention at a strike rate of 70).

So I simply write this primarily as a hats off to Paul Collingwood and I hope you can transfer your dogged determination into your team-mates for the upcoming 2009 Ashes series in England, because as much as I really would love Australia to win, I really would love to see another epic and well fought out contest as I witnessed in 2005. Even if it is without Harmison, Jones and Hoggard.