It was a landmark occasion yesterday for Paul Collingwood, as he equalled Alec Stewart’s record of 170 one-day appearances for England. As Australia pulled away with ease last night, there was a tinge of sadness that one of England’s finest one-day players will not be given the chance to win a major tournament here in Centurion on Monday, when the Champions Trophy reaches its climax. For the time being, Collingwood will have to take his satisfaction from serving as an inspiration to the younger all-rounders making their way in this England team, the likes of Luke Wright and Tim Bresnan, both of whom played such worthy innings in yesterday’s defeat.

Like Collingwood, they have both begun their international careers as bits-and-pieces one-day all-rounders, players for whom neither batting nor bowling on their own would win them a place in the side, but whose overall portfolio of skills makes them so useful in a one-day team. In Collingwood’s case, his brilliant fielding has always added considerably to the package.

With time and experience, Collingwood became so much more than a bits-and-pieces player, graduating to become a fully fledged Test batsman. After making his one-day debut in June 2001, his first Test cap did not come until 2½ years later – by which time he had played 25 one-day internationals - but he had learned much from his early schooling in international cricket.

This has to be the aim for players such as Bresnan and Wright. Bresnan, 24, has already played two Test matches, Wright remains some distance from consideration for the Test side, but Collingwood’s determined self-improvement earlier in his career should serve as an example to spur them on.

With his sparky 34 from 30 balls yesterday, Collingwood took his tally of one-day runs for England to 4,285, just five behind Graham Gooch, who is third on England’s list of leading run-scorers, 50 behind Marcus Trescothick and 392 behind Stewart, the record-holder with 4,677. Collingwood’s canny medium pace has also brought him 97 wickets, placing him sixth on England’s list, while his 97 catches are a record for an England fielder.

At 33, Collingwood is running out of opportunities for his one-day career to reach fulfilment in the form of a global one-day trophy. But as England’s middle-order anchor, best fielder and reliable contributor with the ball, he remains an indispensable part of the side. Before too long, though, it will fall to the likes of Wright and Bresnan to succeed him.