Former England captain Paul Collingwood to retire at the end of the season

Former England skipper Paul Collingwood is all set to hang up his boots at the end of the season, according to an announcement made by his County Championship side Durham on Thursday.

The 42-year old Collingwood, in 2010 became the first England captain to lead his side to a global tournament victory when they won the World T20 in the Caribbean.

Before retiring from international cricket in the year 2011, Collingwood was a part of the England team that won three Ashes series victories over Australia.

“I knew this day would eventually come but it hasn’t made it any easier – although it’s an emotional decision, I know that the time is right and I’m comfortable knowing that I have given every last ounce of energy to the sport,” said Collingwood, as quoted by Durham’s official website.

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“I have achieved so much with both Durham and England, far more than I ever imagined and I feel extremely privileged to have had such a long and rewarding career I am excited about what the future holds for me and am looking forward to new challenges,” he added further.

Having made his debut 22 years ago, Collingwood has amassed 16,891 runs in first-class cricket. In the 68 Test caps he has won for England, Collingwood has scored 4259 runs with his highest score being 206.

The all-rounder is also a veteran of 197 ODIs and 36 T20Is where he has scored 5092 and 583 runs, respectively.

He was also good with his handy right-arm quick bowling which fetched him 111 wickets in his ODI career.