Former England captain Collingwood to retire from professional cricket at the end of 2018 season

The 42-year-old is Durham’s highest ever first-class runs scorer, having amassed 16,891 runs along with 164 wickets in 304 appearances for the club

Current Durham and former England captain Paul Collingwood has announced that he will retire from all forms of professional cricket following his county’s final County Championship match of the season.

The 42-year-old is Durham’s highest ever first-class runs scorer, having amassed 16,891 runs along with 164 wickets in 304 appearances for the club.

The allrounder had a hugely successful England career, playing 68 Tests and scoring 4,259 runs at an average of 40.56 with 10 Test centuries, while he also was a three-time Ashes winner.

The Durham legend also made 197 one-day international appearances, taking 111 wickets and scoring 5092 runs.

Arguably the greatest achievement of his career came in 2010 when Collingwood captained England to their first-ever limited-overs tournament victory at the World Twenty20.

^{Paul Collingwood led England to World Twenty20 success in 2010}

On the decision, Collingwood said: “After much thought and deliberation, I have decided to announce my retirement from cricket at the end of the current season.

“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.

“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.

“It has been an honour to represent Durham County Cricket Club for the last 23 years and I would like to thank the staff, coaches, team mates and members for their tremendous support and for making my career so enjoyable.

“I am excited about what the future holds for me and am looking forward to new challenges.”

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Retirement from international cricket in 2011 was followed by the allrounder leading Durham to Championship victory in 2013 and a Royal London One-Day Cup triumph the following year while Collingwood has started undertaking coaching roles in various capacities.

To celebrate his achievements, the pavilion at the Riverside was named in his honour earlier this year.

On Collingwood, Durham chairman Sir Ian Botham, said: “Paul is one of the greatest all-rounders to ever grace the game of cricket and to have him playing at Durham, his home county, for all these years has been an absolute privilege.

“Both on and off the field he has class, intelligence and charm and it is a testament to his incredible commitment and work ethic that he has been able to compete at the top level for the amount of time that he has.

“Colly is Mr Durham and it will be very strange without him, but on behalf of myself and everyone at Durham County Cricket Club, I would like to wish him the very best in whatever the future holds.”