Paul Collingwood was made captain of the England one-day cricket side this week and is an interesting and probably the most deserved selection. Bets wouldn’t perhaps have been on him being the number 1 choice but I feel that he is the best choice. He’s one of those brooding types of characters, particularly at the wicket when batting, that seems to be able to go inside himself and find that focus that’s needed at the highest level.

I do hope he can find that focus when he’s on the field. I want to be positive - so I will be, and stick my neck out - that Collingwood will be a hit as skipper. He comes across as a calm and easy going type of a guy but there’s no doubting that he has a steely determination for success. When (not if!) he proves himself in this position, he will be a hot contender for Michael Vaughans’ spot if Vaughan doesn’t hit a consistent vein of form.

To a nice bloke who has probably been one of the hardest working players in the game to get to where he is, we wish him well. Cricket betting is a growth area in online betting in the UK in particular and with Collingwood at the helm of the one-day national side, we can start placing bets on realistic England wins.