paul collingwood

England T20 captain Paul Collingwood has his sights firmly on creating a new international World record of eight consecutive wins when he leads the T20 team out in Adelaide on Wednesday in the first of two matches against Australia.

The England team started their brilliant run in the T20World Cup in the Caribbean last year, culminating in a seven wicket victory over the Australian’s in the final.

Having retained the Ashes last week with a 3-1 series win, England are on top of their game and will feel that anything is possible in any format of the game, it has after all been a sensational year for our cricketers with the Ashes and World Cup victories.

Selecting the eleven to play in Adelaide may present more of an headache for Collingwood than he would like, but in their current mood everyone in the squad will fancy their chances with bat and ball as well as in the field.

Collingwood has suggested that Ian Bell may well be recalled for the T20 matches having found his form once again in Australia, despite last having played in the short game three years ago.

It is a luxury that the captain can easily live with and he said “It’s going to be interesting in the next couple of days what side we go in with. It’s good to see guys that are waiting in the wings are in great form.”

Australia meanwhile will be captained by Cameron White with only Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson retaining their places for the T20 games.

Brett Lee and Shaun Tait will spearhead the bowling attack for the Aussies with fast bowler James Pattinson likely to make his debut.

Of course being English we are easily able to forget how fickle the weather is in our country and the frustration of rain interrupting play, but in reality that is part and parcel of the game almost everywhere.

With the Ashes and T20 World Cup trophies in their pockets the England team is about to set out on a memorable summer of International cricket.

The first of three series of  One Day Internationals starts in just a couple of weeks time on June 22nd with five matches against Australia, followed by three matches against Bangladesh.

One Day Internationals return for a final series of five matches against Pakistan on September 10th, preceded by two Twenty20 games with Pakistan on September 5th and 7th.

If limited over cricket is a bit too exciting, Test match fans will be happy to know that they too are well catered for in the upcoming months.

Pakistan will entertain Australia in the npower test match series that runs from July 13th to July 25th with a five day series at both Lords and Headingley.

On July 29th Pakistan will take on England in the same npower series with matches taking place at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, both five day series that will end on August 10th.

The Ashes series will follow in Australia on November 25th and finishing on December 30th and if you are in Australia for Christmas the Ashes tickets are available now to make for an even more unforgettable holiday down under.

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england T20 world cup captain

England T20 captain Paul Collingwood told BBC Radio 5 that his team went to the Caribbean to win the World Cup and achieved just that, adding “It’s a massive achievement. We’ve had a monkey on our backs having not won an ICC trophy and put that right.”

Collingwood, who’s England team crushed Australia by seven wickets to land the T20 World Cup said that the win was ‘up there with last years Ashes win’.

“Of course it’s different to Ashes. But in the last five years we’ve done well against them, it’s a different form of game but beating them is always sweet.”

Consistency was the key to England winning the trophy for the first time and Collingwood praised his players for building the momentum that took them all the way to the final.

“It’s a different form of the game to the Ashes – it only takes three hours and the tournament only went for a couple of weeks – but there’s still all that preparation work you’ve got to do. When you do something for the first time – winning the World Cup for us as the England cricket team – it’s definitely something very special. You’re playing against world-class outfits, there’s always challenges that come along at different stages throughout the tournament. The way that the guys have overcome all them and come out on top, a lot of credit goes to the boys. The euphoria of winning it is very, very similar to the Ashes.”

There was also good news for some of England’s young guns from team director Andy Flower, who suggested that the names of Eoin Morgan and Craig Kieswetter would be on the agenda when the selectors meet ahead of next week’s  first Test against Bangladesh.

He said: “We have a selection meeting later this week. They look like very fine players and handled the pressure of the World Cup very well. They have great skills for Twenty20 cricket and they have a lot of time on their side as they are very young.”

T20 World Cup 2010

England batsman Kevin Pietersen hit an unbeaten 70 off 52 balls to lead his team to a well deserved win over Pakistan in their first  Super Eight match in the 2010 T20 World Cup. England won the game by five wickets with three balls to spare, having chased Pakistan’s total of 147 for 9.

While the England batsmen looked in great shape throughout the innings, they will thank the buttery fingers of Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal who had an awful afternoon in the field, dropping three dead cert catches in the first five overs, allowing the England openers to build an impressive run rate.

Ajmal moved some way to making amends when his sixth over bowling led to the stumping of Lumb for 25 runs off 13 balls. Kieswetter was then caught by Akmal at the start of the ninth over, bringing Pietersen and Collingwood to the wicket.

The England pair enjoyed a partnership that saw Pietersen reach his fifty with a cracking six in the 16th over, only for Collingwood to be caught seconds later in the same over.

At 125 for 3 with four overs remaining England’s batsman looked in control, but then up stepped Ajmal once again in the 18th over, making amends for the earlier dropped catches, he bowled Morgan who had scored just five runs.

With Ajmal back bowling in a tense final over, England managed to squeeze the runs they needed to pass the Pakistan score with three balls remaining.

Final scores:

Pakistan 147 – 9  (20 overs)

England 148 – 4  (19.3 overs)

Having been asked to bat first England could only muster a less than impressive 120 runs for the loss of eight wickets on what was deemed to be an awkward though not impossible wicket.

Ireland’s turn at the crease was interrupted twice by rain before the local cut off time stopped the innings completely. At that point Ireland had managed 14 runs for one wicket from 3.3 overs.

Any thoughts of Ireland ‘doing’ a West Indies and progressing through the odd but effective Duckworth-Lewis rule, were soon put to rest as the ICC rules say that five overs of the second innings have to have been played before the calculation can come into play.

Ireland will be ruing their first match performance against the West Indies last week as they head home from the tournament, but they may also be ruing Eoin Morgan’s decision to choose an international career with England rather than his native country.

Morgan was responsible for 45 of England’s miserable total of 120 and looks set to make a name for himself in this T20 World Cup Tournament.

T20 World Cup 2010

England will be praying for a rain free game against Ireland tonight following the disappointment of losing out to the West Indies on the Duckworth-Lewis calculation after rain disturbed Monday’s match.

England had appeared to do everything right after being being asked to bat first by West Indies captain Chris Gayle. The England batsmen set an impressive 191 – 5, with an excellent stand of 95 from Eoin Morgan (55) and Luke Wright (45 not out).

In return the West Indies managed a quickfire 30 runs before rain stopped play, and on resumption of the game they were set a meagre target of 60 from 6 overs, managing that with a ball to spare.

West Indies were awarded the game on the Duckworth- Lewis rule, something that captain Chris Gayle had gambled on when winning the toss and putting England into bat.

“We knew that the weather was going to play a part -so the first five overs, obviously, can determine the game,” he said, “So we decided to go out and see what we could get out of the first five overs. The target was actually 43, I think, at one stage – and the updated calculation went in our favour. After the rain, we knew we were most likely to win the game from there on.”

The win means West Indies are through to the Super Eight stage, having seen off the challenge of Ireland on the opening day of the tournament and leaves England also needing a win against Ireland tonight to ensure they progress.

The result has left a bitter taste in the mouth for Paul Collingwood and the England team and the captain has called for a change in the D-L Formula in 20 over cricket, saying;

“We played a near perfect game, and lost. The only thing we are frustrated about is the Duckworth-Lewis equation. There’s a major problem with this Duckworth-Lewis in this form of the game.
I’ve got no problems with it in the 50-over form. But I know it’s made us very frustrated here. It certainly has to be revised for this form of the game. I’m no mathematician; I really don’t know what the equation should be. But you’re certainly backs against the wall when it works out like that.”

Collingwood added that they are praying for a 20 over game with no rain on Tuesday night, believing that if they get that they are capable of joining the West Indies in the Super Eights.

T20 World Cup 2010

The much anticipated T20 World Cup starts today in Guyana with Sri Lanka opening the tournament with their game against New Zealand. Ireland will face the West Indies in the second match of the opening day.

The ICC President David Morgan has promised a festival atmosphere in the Caribbean, expecting a celebration of all that is good about West indies cricket.

Morgan has urged the people of the Caribbean to bring their enthusiasm and passion for cricket to the matches and make it a memorable event for everyone involved.

“Bring your musical instruments, your songs and cheers, your flags, banners and colourful costumes. And, above all, bring that party spirit for which cricket matches in the West Indies are famous.”

Australia start as narrow favourites to win the tournament, but England’s T20 underachievers are getting former captain Michael Vaughan excited.

Having secured warm up wins against Bangladesh and South Africa, confidence in the England camp is bound to be high. Despite the top order pairing of Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter yet to prove themselves, Vaughan is hopeful for Paul Collingwood’s team and says;

“This is the first time I have got excited about the England squad coming into the T20 World Cup. For the first time we have guys in the batting with power from one to seven. Maybe we’re a little bit inexperienced in the bowling department, but I think it’s the batting which has let us down in the past. We have had guys who have played in the Indian Premier League – which is a big plus to a team going into a tournament like this. I would be disappointed if we don’t put up some kind of fight.”

Meanwhile Ireland will be action on day one of the tournament having lost their warm ups against New Zealand and Afghanistan. They face the West Indies today in their opening game and coach Phil Simmons is confident that Ireland will come good, suggesting that his team still have the desire to perform in the competition.

The tournament is split into four groups of three with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the Super Eights.

The semi-finals take place in St Lucia on 13 and 14 May and the final in Barbados on 16 May.

Lane had taken over the role as head coach of the England Women’s Cricket team in April 2008, following the sudden resignation of Mark Dobson midway through a tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Lane coached the Womens side to unprecedented victories in both the World Cup and the World Twenty20 finals during 2009.

Hugh Morris managing director of England Cricket said: “I would like to congratulate Mark on his awards which are thoroughly deserved after an outstanding year for women’s cricket in England and Wales.”

While Clare Connor, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s head of women’s cricket, said: “Mark has played a key role in helping the England women’s team develop into a truly world-class side and he should be congratulated on a year of unprecedented success.”

What are the chances of Mark Lane being offered a place on England Men’s coaching staff?

andrew flintoff

Andrew Flintoff has revealed that he has signed a three year contract with county club Lancashire that will see him play one day cricket only for the team and allows him the flexibility to pursue a lucrative one day career around the world.

The injury prone all rounder announced his retirement from Test cricket at the end of the Ashes series this year, saying that he wanted to focus on one day cricket in the future, but he did not feature in any of the recent One Day Internationals as he has been out of action with a knee injury since August.

In a statement on Lancashire CC website Flintoff said;

“I am delighted at being able to agree a new contract which enables me to remain at Old Trafford for the next three years. I have felt part of Lancashire ever since I first played here as a schoolboy and I want to help them achieve success. I have enjoyed many highs with England over the years, but I have not had the same success with Lancashire and thats something I want to address.

I am looking forward to being around the Lancashire dressing room more now I have retired from Test cricket and this contract will also give me the flexibility to play other forms of one-day cricket around the world, which hopefully help me develop as a player and in turn, help Lancashire and England.”

Flintoff already has a lucrative contract to feature in Twenty20 with Chennai in the Indian Premier League and hopes that when he is fully fit to play in ‘every England game except Test matches’, despite turning down a lower tier incremental contract with his country in September.

He has said that it is his goal to become the world’s best one day and Twenty20 player, fitness permitting.

Liam Plunkett, Harmison’s team mate at County Cricket level with Durham was included in the squad along with Steve Davies, Adil Rashid, and Luke Wright. But there was no place for either Ravi Bopara, who has been in unimpressive form for England throughout the Ashes and ODIs, or Owais Shah which surprises me a little.

Kevin Pietersen is making good progress and will join the squad following the two Twenty20 internationals when his fitness will be assessed ahead of the one day series.

The Full Test and One day squads are:

Test squad:Andrew Strauss (Middlesex – captain), Alastair Cook (Essex – vice captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Steven Davies (Surrey), Graham Onions (Durham), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Matt Prior (Sussex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex).

One-day squad: Andrew Strauss (Middlesex – captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Alastair Cook (Essex), Joe Denly (Kent), Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Graham Onions (Durham), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Matt Prior (Sussex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex).