Checkout Finish - Paul Collingwood
Six Appeal P
aul Collingwood is o en described as the ultimate bits and pieces
cricketer, who made the most of his ability with a mixture of dogged determination with the blade, nibbling medium pacers and an excellent fi elding prowess. This description may however do the man from County Durham a disservice as for many years during the upturn in English crickets fortunes, Collingwood was at the heart of proceedings, a model of professionalism on and off the fi eld. Collingwood epitomised the
new era of English cricket with an increased hunger for success, more emphasis on training and more importance on the fi tness side of the sport. The days of Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham knocking back pints after the end of a day’s play and Mike ‘Fat Gat’ Gatting tucking in to endless amounts of grub during the lunch time session are largely a thing of the past. “The fi tness of the players has
improved tremendously and the overall focus on physical well being, diet and athleticism is stronger than ever before,” said Collingwood. “This means players are playing to higher levels than in years gone by. This is without doubt the biggest change to the sport since I started playing. Every player now has to be agile in the fi eld and no team can aff ord to carry anyone who is unfi t.” This increased focus on fi tness has implications for the retail market. A host of companies have been able to delve into the cricket market with products to aid fi tness and lessen fatigue. These include the likes of Adidas, Canterbury, 2XU, Under Armour
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SGB-SPORTS.COM
and Skins for whom Collingwood is a brand ambassador. “For me, wearing something
like Skins makes a big diff erence to my ability to perform, train and recover and this type of approach has taken sports science to a new level. It wasn’t around when I started,” says Collingwood. With potential for such a lucrative
market, retailers should certainly consider this market place and cater for aspiring cricketers looking to emulate the stars. When speaking to SGB,
Collingwood cited lifting the Twenty20 World Cup as the captain of England in St Lucia in 2010 as his proudest moment
epitomised the new era of English
Collingwood cricket with an
increased hunger for success,
more emphasis on training and more importance on the fi tness side of the sport
Durham and England cricketer Paul Collingwood talks to Alex Fordham about the changes to cricket during his career and how retailers can profi t from these changes.
in his career. Alongside the increased importance on fi tness in the modern game, it is undoubtedly Twenty20 that has had the most impact. The new format has managed to capture the attention of the wider sporting public with a quicker, more exciting spectacle than the traditional form of the game. For cricketing purists such as myself, Twenty20 will never surpass 4 or 5 day cricket but there is no doubt the game has benefi ted. Retailers too can profi t.
Many cricketing brands have released cricket bats to target the Twenty20 game such as Mongoose’s range of bats and Newbury’s Uzi. These bats are designed for clean, power hitting and are proving to be popular with professionals for this specialist side of the game. Retailers should certainly consider stocking a Twenty20 range as a trial to see if there is a market for it in their town. With the right products in
place, retailers also need to ensure staff are equipped with suffi cient knowledge to sell the products. Cricket is one of the more complex sports around and so staff really need to know their stuff to ensure consumer confi dence. From his experience of buying
sports equipment for a range of sports, Collingwood agrees. “I’m not sure its necessarily a case of improving a service, but I think its about retaining customer confi dence. So for example, if a club cricketer is buying a new bat, it’s my view they should have all the information available to make an informed choice. Buying with confi dence is the key and for me, that has to be the way forward.”
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