Paul Collingwood - Domestic Career

Domestic Career

Paul Collingwood signed for Durham, his local county side, in 1995, playing first in List A one-day cricket. When he first came to Durham's attention, Collingwood was regarded "as a bowler who batted a bit". According to coach Geoff Cook's 2006 assessment it was Collingwood's determination, rather than his talent, that shone through.

Collingwood made his first–class debut against Northamptonshire in 1996, at Durham's Riverside Ground. He made an immediate impression by taking the wicket of former England all-rounder David Capel with his first ball, and scoring 91 in his first innings. However, his early years as a first-class player were characterised by steady and relatively modest performances with bat and ball: in each season from 1996 to 2000, his batting average was between 20 and 30 and his bowling average was between 30 and 60.

His breakthrough began in 2000, when he was voted Player of the Year by the Durham members, particularly for his one-day efforts. His form varied following a back injury, but he hit his stride in 2001, when he excelled both in the county championship and in the one-day game. In the six English seasons from 2001, Collingwood has exceeded a batting average of 40 four times and achieved a bowling average of less than 40 on three occasions.

Recognising his need to improve his all-round game Collingwood took himself off to Australia for their 2000-01 season where he played for the long-established Richmond Cricket Club in the tough Melbourne Premier League. At the end of the season Collingwood was awarded the prestigious Jack Ryder Medal for the best player in the league (an award he shared), and was the first - and so far only - Richmond player to ever receive it.

Durham only achieved first-class status in 1992. In the 15 years since then, their best performances in the two league championships (the First-class County Championship and the List-A (One-Day) National League) both came in 2006 (finishing sixth and eighth respectively). Following in 2007 with the Friends Provident Trophy, beating Hampshire by 125 runs, Collingwood picking up 22 runs and bowling figures of 3/33. However, Collingwood's involvement was severely limited by his England commitments and he made no appearances at all in either competition.

This stood in marked contrast to the previous season, when Collingwood was available to Durham for four of the five Tests, before his England recall for the final Ashes Test; he "pushed his claims for a Test recall with three centuries in four innings in the Frizzell County Championship." In just 13 appearances in the County Championship in that 2005 season, Collingwood scored 1103 runs and took 21 wickets, averaging 55.15 and 31.90 respectively.

In the traditional reward for services to a county, Durham awarded Collingwood a benefit year for 2007. He chose to support two charities through his benefit, Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Cricket Foundation's "Chance to Shine" project, which encourages cricket coaching in state schools. In that same year, two days after achieving his fifth Test century at Riverside in an England victory, he joined Liam Plunkett in helping the county enter its first Friends Provident Trophy final, which they would also go on to win.