The Caribbean tour was meant to be a fresh start for the Test team after the destruction of the Ashes, but a catastrophic 1-0 defeat by the West Indies – sealed by a 10-wicket strike in Grenada – meant that England did not managed to win its last five series and led to widespread calls for Root to resign. Collingwood understands this reaction on one level and accepts that the test team, which is in last place in the World Test Championship, may have “come down” during a winter without a win. However, as a temporary coach for the one-month trip, he believes that Ruth’s behind-the-scenes contribution will not be taken into account and will begin to bear fruit if patience is shown. “Sometimes it surprises me that he is being questioned because of how he feels in the dressing room,” Collingwood said. “It is the first time I have experienced him as a coach and you can see the passion, the momentum. There is a hunger to make it. These are not just words that come out of his mouth. “He is desperate to bring the team back to victory. I can say nothing but positivity about what he has done in terms of leadership. You need to understand how you feel in the locker room and how strong a leader he is. It has the full support of all players and management as well. I feel that it is still our No. 1 for this team to move forward “. Root’s apparent determination to continue means that the new men’s managing director – who will likely be appointed in late April, along with Marcus North, Rob Key and Mark Nicholas – will have to call, along with a recruiting coach. There is, however, a lack of alternatives beyond Ben Stokes, a vice-captain who has already been burdened by his dual role as a multi-page and needed offside last summer to deal with his mental health. To that end, Collingwood sought to develop a more collaborative approach to touring the Caribbean to “raise these boys into leaders,” but stressed that this was not a mild environment either. The 45-year-old’s diagnosis of defeat was a case of “monumental effort” that tried to impose victories during the first two trials, only to “break” on the third morning of the decision in Grenada. The undefeated century of Joshua da Silva shook minds in the middle – including Root, it must be said – and England then fell by a meager 120 from Kyle Mayers’s average. Collingwood said: “The frustration of not being able to get these last two wickets quickly on the third morning got into batting in the afternoon. Our decisions were not good enough. It’s something we need to improve in stressful situations. We realize it. “We said when we came on this tour that we would not be the finished article. But we want to have the right behavior and the right things in the locker room to move the team forward. “I think we have done a lot of good things, so it is even more tedious not to have the result in the end.” Collingwood also remained unrepentant about the decision to leave Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad at home, arguing that a player like Saqib Mahmood would not have had the chance if they had been selected. Although debatable, given the series’ back-to-back nature it was likely to require a degree of rotation, Mahmood certainly impressed with his skills and composure. Olli Robinson, however, failed to enter the park after a premature spasm in the back on the tour, leading to concerns that he could repeat his most recent outing at Hobart and break in the middle of the race. Returning to Sussex, aiming to get in top shape for the Three-Test series against world champions New Zealand in June, is now the plan. Collingwood’s future is uncertain given the leadership gap in English cricket, which is reaching the top with the role of the ECB’s chair still vacant. Remaining technically an assistant coach in the setup, this one-month project, although unsuccessful, whetted his appetite. “It’s stressful,” he said. “You wake up so many times a night. But it is very satisfying, I promise. I can imagine if you started to win and turn the corner, the satisfaction you would get from it would be incredible. “It has always been my challenge to leave this team in a better place than when I first got it and I feel it is much stronger now. I threw my hat in the ring [for head coach] and if they want us, they know where I am. “
