Paul Collingwood faces the biggest challenge to his resilience after receiving a four-match ban for supervising a slow over-rate during the controversial NatWest Series match against New Zealand at the Brit Oval on Wednesday, what appeared to be the lesser of two serious errors of judgment as the England one-day captain.

Despite apologising for his mistake, Collingwood's decision not to withdraw an appeal for a run-out against Grant Elliott, the New Zealand batsman, who had collided with Ryan Sidebottom, the fast bowler, continued

to reverberate yesterday as Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, hinted that he should consider his position in charge of the one-day team.

Kevin Pietersen will captain England for the last game of the five-match series at Lord's tomorrow, which England must win to level the series at 2-2. Collingwood, 32, will also miss the one-day international against Scotland on August 18, plus a Twenty20 game and one-day international against South Africa the week after.

Smith expressed sympathy for Collingwood and said that he was not sure whether he would have taken a different decision in the situation. Asked yesterday whether he considered the error warranted resignation, Smith said: “I guess it depends on how he feels. If he feels that he can take the captaincy forward after what happened and still have the respect to be able to do that ... they are questions he needs to ask himself. With everything that is going on, he probably did not want to get out of bed today.”

Smith rejected Collingwood's comparison to an incident from the ICC World Twenty20 last September when Pietersen was run out after colliding with Shaun Pollock. “They were not the same,” Smith said. “Pollock had his back turned and Pietersen, if I remember, also had his back turned to him at the stumps.”

At the time Collingwood said that Pietersen should have been recalled, a view that contradicted his actions two days ago and only his apology to Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, prevented louder criticism. But that he allowed the bowlers to fall three overs behind schedule, having been fined for a similar breach against India in Bristol last year, also raises questions. A repeat offence made a Level Three ban inevitable under the ICC Code of Conduct.

Graeme Swann revealed that Mark Benson and Steve Davis, the umpires, had told Collingwood that England were slipping seriously adrift during the second half of the innings and the presence of Swann in the attack - there was no England spin bowler in Bristol last year - makes the tardiness harder to justify. Collingwood takes a lot of soundings from colleagues in the field and Pietersen is especially proactive as unofficial vice-captain. “It is my responsibility to bear the penalties for such a breach,” Collingwood said. “Clearly we will look to address the problem. The England captaincy means the world to me.” Andrew Strauss will take his place in the squad tomorrow.

The elevation of Pietersen, who is 28 today, completes a journey from qualifying as a South African to the highest ranks in his adopted country. “I am humbled,” he said. “It has been a dream to captain England. To be asked to captain your country is the ultimate honour in sport.”

Those words will be like a red rag to Smith, who has been critical of Pietersen's decision to leave South Africa. “It will be an interesting responsibility to handle,” Smith said. “Kevin is key in their set-up and the way he deals with it will be important for him.”

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