Thanks Colly, and Congratulations

At some point late tonight or in the early hours of the morning England will wrap up the Ashes series 3-1 in style to end what has been a truly magnificent twelve months for Andy Flower, Andrew Strauss and the England cricket team.

It will also mark the end of Paul Collingwood's test career and Sportsvibe would like to pay tribute to the red-headed, Sunderland supporting batsman, occasional bowler and wonder fielder.

Colly may have endured a miserable series with the bat down under but he has still contributed hugely in terms of his general leadership, team spirit and efforts without his pads on. His likely last wicket in test cricket will be Michael Hussey, by far the best Aussie batsman in the series and the only major thorn in England's side, and he has also clung on to numerous catches, none more so than the acrobatic effort to dismiss Ricky Ponting cheaply at slip when he caught the ball almost horizontal, and in mid-air.

Was Paul Collingwood the most gifted of English batsmen? Definitely not, as he is the first to admit. Colly is many things, but he is no Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell or Kevin Pietersen. Will he go down as one of the greats of English cricket? Probably not. What he has achieved, however, is to squeeze every last drop out of himself to perform at the highest level.

Of course the man is talented. He would not be a test match cricketer without a healthy slice of talent. But it is is strength of character that has made him excel. While others may have scored more big innings than Collingwood, it is his stubborn knocks in South Africa last year, and in the 2009 Ashes series, which went a very long way to saving tests and for which he will be most appreciated for.

Dubbed Captain Smash for his one-day heroics, and Brigadier Block for his test match resistance, Colly will be much missed by an England team who will now look towards Eoin Morgan or Ravi Bopara to fill his shoes. So thank you Paul Collingwood. You've been a star!