When the message came through on Wednesday evening that Paul Collingwood had been hauled before the the match referee because of England's slow over rate it seemed to be yet another example of the ICC acting tough on the little things while overlooking the bigger issues. Nobody at the Brit Oval who witnessed what we hacks call a "last-ball thriller" seemed to be complaining that the game against New Zealand had finished behind schedule.

Collingwood will not see any irony today in the fact that he will go unpunished - at least directly - for his decision not to recall Grant Elliott which brought boos from the crowd and left those New Zealand players who were not left speechless by the misjudgement raging in anger. Failure to bowl the 50 overs within the allotted three-and-a-half hours, for the second time in a year, means that he will miss the next four one-day internationals.

Already without Andrew Flintoff, England will now miss both of their two leading all-rounders for the game at Lord's which they must win to square the NatWest Series 2-2. But, for Collingwood, the implications stretch beyond a game missed - or even four. He is a rock-solid, level-headed citizen but he was clearly shell-shocked at the extent of criticism on Wednesday and faces a major test of that famously strong character.

By apologising immediately after the game he scores points for admitting a mistake. We should take him at his word and accept that it was meant sincerely rather than a public relations exercise. Yet the fact that, under pressure, he took such a flawed decision in the first place raises major questions about his ability to lead the side. He explained his thought process and it did not involve consideration of the spirit of the game. To Collingwood, the decision did not 'feel' wrong.

If every leader failing to meet the requirement on overs faced suspension there would be a very rapid turnaround of captains. Collingwood, though, was warned of the slovenly rate throughout the second half of the New Zealand innings by the umpires and also had some 'previous', being fined 50 percent of his match fee for the same offence against India at Bristol last year. He should have seen this one coming.

Captains can be autocratic in the mould of Nasser Hussain or take soundings from their team-mates. Kevin Pietersen has been a pro-active vice-captain to Collingwood in all but name and will lead England for the first time on Saturday. But would Pietersen have recalled Elliott in the same situation? It was Pietersen who took off the bails and if he felt uneasy then he did not appear to make a big issue of telling Collingwood so when the batsman could have been brought back.

Collingwood, though, must take the rap. By trying to win at all costs he has lost more than a game. His reputation will be stained and his prospects of succeeding Michael Vaughan as the Test captain - should he still be in the side when Vaughan makes way in whatever circumstances - must have receded.