Paul Collingwood hopes Edgbaston will be the venue that sees him claim his place back in the England Test side after being dropped for the second Test against South Africa.

England's one-day skipper was axed from the side which suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat at Headingley - a decision which left Collingwood to mull over "the biggest disappointment" of his career.

After being embroiled in a run-out controversy with New Zealander Grant Elliott at Lord's and then receiving a four-match limited-overs ban for his side's slow over-rate - the 2008 season has thus far been one to forget for the Durham all-rounder.

However, after being recalled to the England 13-man squad for the third Test at Edgbaston, Collingwood now hopes he can kick-start his season after scoring just 92 runs in his last nine first-class innings.

"It's been a very difficult season for me but hopefully it will be a season of two halves and the better half starts now," said Collingwood.

"I just want this to be the spark, the catalyst, whatever word you want to choose, to get me going again.

"It's been the worst year of my career but once you have got over the hurt you look at it and realise that hope is just around the corner.

"I worried about what this meant for me when I was left out of Headingley and it was without doubt the biggest disappointment of my career.

"The only thing that comes close to it was when I was left out of the second Test in Pakistan and I worried whether I would ever make it as a Test player."

In 2005 fortune was on his side as Andrew Strauss' return home in November to witness the birth of his first child provided a way back in - a chance he seized with scores of 96 and 80 in Lahore.

Collingwood's route back into the starting XI this time round may be mapped by England's willingness to revert to a four-man bowling attack, which would mean slotting back into the number six spot and supplementing the bowling with his medium pace.

After finding out he wasn't included in the Test side for the first time in 34 matches at Leeds, Collingwood said: "I think you could see from my face when I was told I was out what it meant to me.

"But to be honest I'm glad I was so hurt because it proved to me that I still have the passion and want to play for England as much as ever.

"It was hard to get my head round the fact that I wasn't in the team any more. From there it was a question of trying to get over the emotion and move on.

"I understand I hadn't made enough runs to keep my place and it was up to me to go away and work on my game. That's only right. I wouldn't have it any other way.

"In a way it was nice for me to hear Michael Vaughan saying nice things about me afterwards and that it may have been my demotion that upset the unity of the side.

"But I think that would have been the case with any member of the side who had been around a while.

"We're a close-knit group and everybody feels for each other. We've got to show that unity again now and come back from being one down. We've done it before and we can do it again and we always like playing at Edgbaston."