We can win: Colly
Paul Collingwood is England's most capped player, and stands as an example of a man who has squeezed every ounce of talent that he has been blessed with. The jovial former ODI captain took part in a press meet yesterday at Dhaka's Hotel Sheraton, where he answered questions ranging from England's chances in the World Cup and the team's confidence levels following their recent 6-1 reversal against Australia in a one-day series down under.
“Obviously we have come here to win. We have been in good form. Other than the 6-1 loss to Australia in the ODI series, we played some good one-day cricket leading up to that,” Collingwood said about England's chances in the World Cup. When asked if the drubbing at the hands of their archrivals was demoralising, he replied, “Demoralising is too strong a word. We are disappointed in our defeat against Australia, but hopefully it doesn't affect our chances during this World Cup.
“It's a different set of conditions altogether. We've played a lot of tough series and won them, in South Africa and at home against the Aussies, so that gives us the belief that we can go on and win this World Cup.”
Collingwood thinks that the team can draw on previous experiences of playing in the subcontinent in order to acclimatise to the conditions here. “We need to adapt, every single player needs to adapt, and I feel we have the skills to play on these pitches. If we do that as a team, all eleven members, then I think we have got a good chance.”
A lot will hinge on what many consider to be England's trump card, the highest ranked spinner in the world, Graeme Swann. “Yeah, obviously spin will play a big part in the subcontinent, but also the skills of the faster bowlers in bowling cutters comes into play. We've got one of the best spinners in world cricket in Graeme Swann, and I am sure he will have a good tournament. But as I said, we can't depend on just one or two players; all eleven on the field have to perform,” the Durham player said.
Collingwood is also the only English cricket captain to win an ICC trophy, a feat he accomplished when he led England to the World Twenty20 title in the West Indies last year. Asked to compare the two campaigns, he answered, “There are some similarities. We were playing good cricket before that, as we have been this time. As I said, we played and won some tough series which we can use as stepping stones
Of backstage heroes
They don't win matches by smashing sixes or grabbing wickets but prefer plotting their teams' success behind the scene.
Fourteen coaches go into the World Cup with different goals, some eyeing the trophy while others seek improvement. The only thing unacceptable to all of them is under-performance.
Seven of the nine Test-playing nations named new coaches after the 2007 event in the Caribbean for different reasons, highlighting the significance of their role.
India coach Gary Kirsten, England's Andy Flower, Australian Tim Nielsen, Sri Lanka's Trevor Bayliss, South African Corrie Van Zyl and Pakistan's Waqar Younis believe they have the team to hit the jackpot.
Coaches of the remaining three Test nations -- Jamie Siddons (Bangladesh), John Wright (New Zealand) and Ottis Gibson (West Indies) -- are also hungry for success and expect their teams to improve upon their 2007 performances.
With Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain and former South Africa batsman Kirsten as coach, India have done remarkably well in recent years to eventually become number one in Test and two in one-day rankings.
Kirsten is likely to step down after the tournament.
Expectations grew with each success and millions of fans now want India to bury bitter memories of the 2007 edition that saw them crash out in the first round.
England are the in-form team, having recently won the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years. Flower's biggest challenge is to make England believe they are as formidable a side in one-dayers as in Tests.
"Andy Flower is a guy we all respect for what he's achieved and how he holds himself in the dressing room. He's been incredible," England captain Andrew Strauss said.
Bayliss played a major role in helping Sri Lanka improve their Test and one-day rankings and expects his team to repeat the 1996 feat in his last assignment.
Sri Lanka have also set lofty standards as they were the champions in 1996, semifinalists in 2003 and runners-up four years later.
"The World Cup success is a very big thing here in Sri Lanka. Everyone involved in cricket would like to copy what happened in 1996," said Bayliss.
Nielsen will feel the heat when Australia make a bid to win a fourth successive Cup without key players -- Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds.
Australia, who did not lose a match in the last two editions with John Buchanan as coach, may not find it easy this time as they have shed much of their strength in recent years.
They, however, remain a team to beat in one-dayers.
Waqar, looking for consistency from his team, has said restoring faith among the players will be his top priority.
"My first task will be to mix with the players and raise their morale," Waqar said after being named coach last year.
Pakistan will be determined to put in a solid all-round performance this time after their first-round exit in the last edition.
South Africa had to be content with semifinal finishes in 1999 and 2007 as they faltered at crucial moments.
Van Zyl hopes his side handle the pressure better this time as they have the talent to beat the best.
Bangladesh, who made history by advancing to the second round in 2007 with Dav Whatmore as coach, have been steadily improving in recent years and the credit also goes to Siddons.
Their best came last year when they blanked New Zealand and Zimbabwe in home one-day series.
Wright, India's coach when the team reached the 2003 final in South Africa, is expected to revive New Zealand's fortunes after the team's recent poor performances, including 11 successive defeats in the sub-continent.
"The Daily Star"
SA face Aus in warm-up
There are only two survivors from that semifinal between South Africa and Australia at Edgbaston in 1999 in this World Cup. Only Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting have experienced the heartache and exhilaration that laid the foundation for an intense rivalry between the two countries in the 21st century. Most of the men in the present squads only had a small taste of the tough contest that plays out when these two teams meet, in the 2008-09 season. They'll be served another morsel in the warm-up match in Bangalore on Tuesday, and even though it's only for practice, the winners will take confidence out of beating their old foes.
South Africa have more painful memories and will be particularly gleeful if they walk away with a victory, although coach Corrie van Zyl warned against reading too much into the match. "It's important for us to win in terms of getting ready for the 24th, which is when the real thing starts," he said. South Africa have another ten days before their World Cup campaign gets underway against West Indies in Delhi and are being careful not to get distracted before then.
The outcome of today's match could be one such distraction, perhaps more so if South Africa win. Australia are by no means the invincible side they once were, and they don't have the same hold over South Africa that they once did, but the contest is still talked up. Van Zyl is trying to get his team to think beyond that. "To think about those things in the past is unnecessary," he said. "This is a different side now."
The biggest change for South Africa is that they have a more varied bowling attack than ever before, headlined by three frontline and two part-time spinners. Collectively, they took six wickets in the warm-up game against Zimbabwe, and after seeing the amount of turn the Bangalore pitch offered, they must be drooling at the sight of it. Australia lost 9 for 58 against India on Sunday, and their batsmen have plenty to ponder over before facing South Africa's spinners, all of whom are likely to play.
"We want to give everyone an opportunity," van Zyl said, indicating South Africa may field all 15 players. It will be a helpful exercise for Dale Steyn, who got nothing out of the Chennai pitch and saw some Australian seamers succeed in Bangalore. Steyn bowled much slower than normal against Zimbabwe but there were no doubts over his fitness. "Dale brings a uniqueness to the bowling attack with his pace and swing and is obviously a very important player for us. We are looking to have a complete bowling attack and he is part of that."
There was a fear that one of the prongs of that attack, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, may be out of action for a while after spraining his knee against Zimbabwe but he was running during training with no problems. "He has done work with the physio and practiced under guidance and we hope he will be ready for tomorrow," Van Zyl said.
The emphasis is on getting every member of the squad as prepared as possible and not on the overall outcome. With that in mind, the middle order is a concern because it did not have much time at the crease on Saturday. Although van Zyl would like to see the likes of JP Duminy, Colin Ingram and Johan Botha batting, he doesn't want it to come "because the top order did a bad job." Ideally he would like them to "get an opportunity at a later stage in the innings."
The only other player whose preparation is under scrutiny is Jacques Kallis. He batted with sublime confidence on Saturday but did not bowl and is unlikely to do so on Tuesday. Van Zyl hoped the step-by-step reintroduction will pay off and Kallis will peak during the tournament. "When he has had periods of rest, he always comes back so strongly, so we hope that will happen again. It's important that he is ready for the business end."
That end of the tournament is not for another five weeks, and even though many will see Tuesday's match as a possible semi-final or final, it will be crucial for South Africa to remember that it isn't and concentrate on their method, not the result. A victory over Australia later in the tournament will be much sweeter
