All is not lost for England: Collingwood
March 4th, 2011 - 10:55 pm ICT by IANSChennai, March 4 (IANS) Historically, the British are known for brave words in adversity and so is the case with the current England team that suffered an embarrassing defeat to neighbours Ireland in the 2011 cricket World Cup to find themselves in a tight situation.
Former captain Paul Collingwood displayed the customary “stiff upper lip” while fielding questions from the media on the sidelines of the Slazenger product launch function here Friday by asserting that England will bounce back and are not out for the count.
“The result against Ireland was disappointing. All the guys are disappointed, but the confidence level of the side was not affected.
“We are capable of bouncing back from such defeats. We have bounced back from such situations in the past and we will bounce back immediately,” he thundered as his team faces a challenging game against South Africa here Sunday.
“We are focused on what we need to do better in the game Sunday. South Africa is a top team and so are we. We won a series in South Africa. However, the conditions were different then,” Collingwood reminded referring to the 2-1 series win against the Proteas two seasons ago.
He admitted that the entire England team failed to stop the marauding Irish batsman, Kevin O’Brien, who slammed a record 50-ball century in Bangalore Wednesday night while chasing a target of 328.
“It’s not about five bowlers. We did not defend it (the total) as a team. We need to improve upon in some areas for the match against South Africa,” he said.
Collingwood refuted that England’s rather flat performance in the World Cup was because of the fatigue factor, especially after their brilliant performance against Australia en route to winning the Ashes Test series.
“Probably it (the bowling) has more to do with the wickets that are like the road leading up to this hotel, very flat and also smaller grounds,” he said.
England are currently on three points from a win and a tie that put them in the third spot in Group B standings, behind South Africa (4), the West Indies (4) and India (3) while Ireland (2) also fancy their chances. The top four teams advance to the knock-out quarter-finals.
- World Cup is not over for us: Trott - Mar 04, 2011
- England face stern test against South Africa (Preview) - Mar 05, 2011
- Strauss hopeful of positive result - Mar 05, 2011
- Ireland put India on notice with victory over England - Mar 03, 2011
- Unfazed Ireland looks ahead for better performance - Mar 07, 2011
- England's Trott forecasts turnaround in World Cup fortunes - Mar 05, 2011
- England must win four matches to lift World Cup: Collingwood - Mar 14, 2011
- Irish cricketer Kevin disappointed at missing IPL - May 04, 2012
- West Indies will be wary of fast-improving Ireland (Preview) - Mar 10, 2011
- A series of firsts for Ireland against England (Statistical Highlights) - Mar 03, 2011
- Collingwood has no plans to retire - Mar 14, 2011
- England skipper pats Ireland for sensational victory - Mar 03, 2011
- O'Brien wary of strong Indian batting, bowling line-up - Mar 04, 2011
- World Cup teams: Strengths and key players - Feb 18, 2011
- England face the heat in must-win game against West Indies (Preview) - Mar 16, 2011
Tags: ashes test series, batsman, bowlers, brave words, brilliant performance, captain paul, chennai, collingwood, confidence level, cricket world cup, england team, fielding questions, o brien, product launch, sidelines, stiff upper lip, target, thir, tight situation, wickets