Moments before the start of the fifth Test between England and India, absurd scenes unfolded as the Three Lions' coaching staff members, Paul Collingwood and Marcus Trescothick, were named as substitute fielders for the ongoing Dharamshala Test. This was due to Ollie Robinson falling ill and being unable to travel to the ground.
This comes as England's playing squad is already depleted, reduced to 14 after Rehan Ahmed's departure. During their playing careers, both Collingwood and Trescothick amassed impressive fielding records, with 96 and 95 catches in Test matches respectively.
Their fielding skills were recently on display in a pre-match challenge against the players, where Trescothick impressed with a one-handed reflex catch of Ollie Pope's bat.
Collingwood has experience in non-playing roles. He was a sub-fielder for England in an ODI against New Zealand in 2014 and a tour match against a Cricket Australia XI in 2017. He also served as a drinks runner during the 2020 Pakistan series due to COVID-19 restrictions.