By Andrew McKenzie

Collingwood's captaincy has been questioned

England bowler James Kirtley has given backing to under-fire skipper Paul Collingwood after the team's World Twenty20 disappointments.

Collingwood was criticised for some of his decision-making as England made an early exit from the tournament.

Kirtley told BBC Sport: "His experience and knowledge about the game is vast.

"He understands all the skills and he's probably played more one-day international cricket than any other English player."

Collingwood has an extra reason to want to forget the tournament, during which he was fined around �1,000 after being seen in a strip club on the eve of a big game in Cape Town.

Geoff Boycott led the critics as England, who were expected to contend for the inaugural competition in South Africa, went out at the Super Eights stage after beating only Zimbabwe.

It is a shame that I wasn't able to show my skills off on the international stage James Kirtley

Boycott questioned Collingwood's captaincy skills after he miscalculated and gave Andrew Flintoff just three overs in the defeat to South Africa.

But Kirtley said of his skipper: "Twenty20 is such a fast-moving game and he's probably our best fielder, he can adapt as a batter and he also bowls.

"Sometimes captaincy is not just about on the pitch - what he does in terms of managing the dynamics of the team and individuals is fantastic.

"Sometimes those qualities aren't as apparent or as focussed upon as tactics and decisions in a match."

Kirtley put England's poor efforts down to a lack of planning time.

"England weren't helped by their schedule," he added. "We had little or no time to prepare for the tournament.

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"Most teams had one or two weeks in a training camp but England had about two days after playing India and were on a plane to South Africa.

"The lack of time and ability to plan was as big a handicap as they could have had."

Sussex seamer Kirtley, who has played four Tests and 11 50-over internationals, was one of a group of county Twenty20 specialists picked for the tournament.

But he was given just one over of action at the World Twenty20, which went for 17 runs, and admitted he was disappointed not to have been given more of a chance.