England in Australia: Paul Collingwood down but not out as he eyes World Cup salvation

He has not entered so low in the one-day side since 2005 and the past month of demotions indicates the 34 year-old’s strength is weakening.

While he remains the Twenty20 captain, he left before being pushed from the Test side after managing only 83 runs in the Ashes, and is now battling for time in the format he has been most suited to.

In England’s current state, whenever they require another specialist bowler - they relied on three front-line seamers in Adelaide - Collingwood will be the most vulnerable batsman.

“Is the writing on the wall? Is that what you’re trying to say?” he said. “We will have to see what conditions are like. I’m desperate to get in the side, like every other batsman. It will be interesting to see what combination they go with.”

The long-awaited Ashes success in Australia has made this slump easier to deal with for Collingwood, who failed to make a significant impact on the Test series.

“Of course you get down, this is your job,” he said after the side landed here for Sunday’s fifth one-day international.

“You feel you are letting your team-mates down. It doesn’t only affect you, it affects your family, because there is a lot of pressure on what we do, but the older you get the more you try to keep things in perspective.”

By his count, he has had four “horrible bad runs of form” at international level and this trough is mild compared with his state of mind during the tour here in 2006-07.

Being bowled by a straight ball from Xavier Doherty in Sydney on Sunday was nowhere near as deflating as his dismissal to Andrew Symonds in Adelaide four years ago.

“I plinked it to mid-off trying to hit it over the top and I remember literally sitting in the locker - in it - just nearly in tears,” he said. He had scratched three off 17 balls in that one-day international before England were dismissed for 110, adding to their despair after suffering an Ashes whitewash.

“There have been plenty of low points along the way,” he said. “It was ridiculous [in 2006-07]. I went from that point thinking, ‘I can’t even bat any more’, to getting man-of-the-match awards. It can change quickly.”

Four years later he is hoping the encouraging display in Adelaide - “It was good to get past 20, I haven’t done that in a while” – will be the start of another run of success. England would welcome the improvement from one of their previously major influences as they attempt to claw back a 3-1 deficit.

“It’s so frustrating not being in good form,” he said. “But I honestly think it is just around the corner, so hopefully [Wednesday] was the spark that I needed.”

His bowling is often valuable and he showed his effectiveness on the sluggish Adelaide pitch that should be similar to the surfaces on offer during the World Cup. He is also versatile enough to deliver seam up or cutters, the more likely method for success in the subcontinent.

On Wednesday he bowled Michael Clarke with one angling in, finishing with one for 22 off seven overs before leaving the ground with stomach cramps. He could be a threat at the Gabba as the fifth bowler in humid conditions, especially in the evening when the ball swings sharply.

“It’s important [to have a second string], I want to contribute, want to win games for England,” he said. “It’s a great way to take the pressure off in many ways from your batting. But ultimately my role in the side is to score runs and that’s what I want to get back to.”

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