Paul Collingwood's ascendancy as one-day captain is perhaps one of the most unobserved - but one of the most welcomed - chapters in English cricket. Well, that is so typical of the man. Collingwood can pass through the busiest of London streets unnoticed, and even on the field he leads the team without any theatrics.

His methods have suited England fine in recent times. It has played a huge role too in them making some considerable strides as a one-day side. England have shown a new, but steely attitude since Collingwood has taken over as captain in June this year.

But the unassuming Durham man gave credit to the support staff and fellow players for the respectable start as captain.

"I haven't had a lot of captaincy experience, but Peter Moores, Andy Flower and Allan Donald have all helped me out a helluva lot," he said. Certainly the sign of a good leader who is happy to help others and seek help from others.

"The guys are getting more used to me. The good thing is that the guys are captaining themselves. The bowlers are choosing their field placings, but obviously you put your ideas in. But they are taking a lot of responsibility on their own shoulders," he pointed out.

The biggest advantage Collingwood possess as a captain is that he has a youthful side at his disposal. Players like Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson and Monty Panesar are still in their mid and late 20s, and lot of years ahead of them at top flight cricket.

Not without reasons, Collingwood has high expectations on these players.

"It's very exciting to lead such a side. We can get too carried away and I don't want that to happen. I want players to keep working towards the big goals like the ICC Trophy and the World Cup. I don't think these guys will sit back and relax. There's a lot of ambition in that team, and hopefully, we can take it all the way," he said.
The burden of captaincy sits lightly on the shoulders of Collingwood - or simply Colly for colleagues - as he has shown in the on-going NatWest series against India. He has scored 209 runs from five matches so far at an average of 69.66, second only to Bell (84.25), and at an impressive strike rate of 102.45.

"You do learn a lot about each individual. You are not just looking after your own game and performing your own little role. It's been exciting, and I've enjoyed the challenge of it," he explained.

The immediate challenge ahead of Collingwood is to manage the constant injuries of Flintoff that rendered him hors de comat on a number of occasions, and the sudden dip in form of Pietersen.

But Collingwood remained unfazed. "We don't rely solely on one person. It's always a massive advantage when Freddie is in the side because he balances the side out brilliantly well. He is two players in one, but yes, we miss him. As for Pietersen, he hasn't had the best of series, I'm sure he'll come good as well, but as a batting unit we're getting up to 300 runs and it doesn't put pressure on them."

Collingwood pointed out that the forthcoming Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa as the next big challenge for him and the team.

"The squad is a very exciting one. There are individuals picked to do certain jobs. I think we've got plan As and plan Bs covered. The funny thing about the Twenty20 is that nobody really knows who the winners are going to be. There are going to be different approaches from different teams. That's the exciting thing. We are kind of going to be the unknown bit. But I guess certain one-day principles apply in this format as well, and I think we've got the players in this squad who cover all those principles."

But Collingwood, in a realistic tone, added that he will face the real test as captain once they play outside their comfort zone. "Since I took over I've felt in charge. I'm still learning. But when you go abroad and play in places like Sri Lanka is where you really get tested and learn the most."

Collingwood rated the tips of his predecessor Michael Vaughan as precious. "I speak to Vaughany quite a bit. His best words are, I feel, to look calm when things are going wrong. I tried to do that during the Twenty20s against the West Indies, pretending you are in control. But in the end it's my approach and my character that will come through. Right through your career you take advice from coaches and people you know, but in the end it's you who has to perform on the pitch," he said.

And Collingwood has done that duty to perfection so far.