England to stick with struggling all-rounder Collingwood

The rueful smiles as he flailed away with the bat said it all.

The Durham all-rounder knows he is woefully out of touch.

The England coach knows it, too. But Peter Moores is adamant that the trials and tribulations the one-day captain is experiencing at present are merely a temporary setback.

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All smiles: Collingwood (left) and Ian Bell steered England home on Monday but the Durham star has endured a bit of a torrid time

He all but confirmed Collingwood's place is secure for the third npower Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, starting next Thursday, in recognition of his sterling service in all forms of the game.

The message is clear - there is a problem but no panic. England's selectors have until Friday to finalise a squad to face the Black Caps in a Twenty20 international and limited-overs NatWest Series and they will reveal their hand for Nottingham on Sunday.

Collingwood's mini-slump will provoke debate but not drastic action.

Asked if the 30-year-old's position was in doubt, Moores said: "No. There is always a discussion but we have to get a balance with loyalty as well and with Paul you've got a very good cricketer.

"He is a touch player like everybody and he knows he is struggling to find that at the moment. Unfortunately, in the build-up to the series he didn't get any runs so he wants to find his touch again."

Collingwood's 24 not out at Old Trafford was a bitter-sweet cameo, laying bare his current shortcomings but giving him a chance to plunder some vital runs, however streaky.

Barely 18 months ago, he had taken a double-hundred off Australia in Adelaide and was averaging 47.64 in Tests.

That figure has dropped to 41.64 and he has not registered a century for a year.

Yet, there have been several scores in excess of 50 in the intervening period and Moores launched a robust defence of Collingwood, based on his proven ability to score runs, chip in with wickets and turn matches with world-class catches.

Moores said: "In many ways, because of the way he plays, there are always questions about whether he is good enough. But the lad averages 42 in Test match cricket, he has scored a double-hundred in Australia and he is a good player in all forms of the game.

"He contributes with the bat, with the ball and in the field. It was interesting when the Most Valuable Player rankings came out from the PCA (players' union) recently and the top player was Paul Collingwood. You can't forget too quickly that that was over the last calendar year.

"Going into the Napier Test, he was our form batter and we've only played two Tests since. Form comes and goes but he's a good player and a fighter, too."

Colly-wobbles: The figures

In an attempt to reinforce his 'form is temporary, class is permanent' argument, Moores pointed to the example of England's Test captain, Michael Vaughan.

"Two weeks ago, people were talking about Michael Vaughan, saying 'Will he be good enough?' Since then he has scored a very good hundred at Lord's and played beautifully at Old Trafford," said Moores.

"Things move quickly in sport. If Paul Collingwood goes out and gets a hundred then he's a good player again!"

However, there is another case study worth bearing in mind. Andrew Strauss's form deserted him to such an extent last year that he was left out of the England squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.

Having been reinstated in New Zealand, he struggled initially but then scored a hundred in Napier and has been riding the crest of a wave since, culminating in his match-winning 106 on Monday.

For Collingwood, there is medical justification for a similar sabbatical.

He had a third injection in his damaged right shoulder earlier this month knowing that if pain flares up again surgery is all but inevitable.

Surely, with his batting at a low ebb now is the time for a pre-emptive operation.

Rehabilitation would take a maximum of six months so he should be fighting fit to travel to the West Indies next January to begin the Ashes countdown.

There is readily-available cover in the shape of Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Rob Key and, perhaps eventually, Andrew Flintoff.

But Collingwood has candidly admitted to feeling uneasy about vacating his England place after working so hard to secure it.

A further consideration is undoubtedly the fear of missing out on a lucrative pay-day in the first Twenty20 match against Sir Allen Stanford's West Indies All-Stars in November.

But plenty more cash bonanzas await and the ECB could be expected to renew his central contract, as they did with Vaughan when he was fighting to save his career.

Admittedly, Collingwood should think carefully about going under the knife and taking a break.

Any lingering sense of insecurity about his prospects of returning to the top level ought to be banished by those three words which sum up what he is worth to the England team.

Most Valuable Player.