Gros Islet (St.Lucia), May 11 (Inditop.com) Despite avoiding a face-off with Australia in the semi-finals, England captain Paul Collingwood is not concerned about their opponents in the last four of the World Twenty20.
“We all know we haven’t won an ICC trophy. In the semis, and if we get through to the final, I won’t be bothered who we’re playing. Winning would be an exceptional effort,” said Collingwood.
“I’m just absolutely delighted to get through to the semis. Who we play doesn’t really matter. All the teams that are in the semis now are very, very strong and we’ve got to keep this belief and momentum going,” he said.
Collingwood said the team is riding high on confidence as they are just two matches away from winning a World Cup.
“We’ve got two games and we could win a World Cup. The confidence is sky high and we’re all very excited to be in this position.”
“If we want to go all the way, it’s going to take a team effort. We’ll all have to put our hands up at certain points. With Swanny (Graeme Swann) and Broady (Stuart Broad) coming in (to bat), even after Bresy (Bresnan), we’ve got a really strong line-up.”
Collingwood came out in praise for his opening batsman.
“A special mention has to go to the two guys up front, Craig (Kieswetter) and Michael (Lumb) too, for the way they’re taking the game to the opposition and giving us that real kick-start. That really does take the pressure off the middle order.”
Collingwood said he was looking forward to welcoming Pietersen back into the squad.
“It’s perfect timing in many ways. I’m delighted for him. Everybody’s healthy so it’s fantastic. The great thing for the England cricket team is that he’s going to be back for the semi-finals,” he said.