The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Collingwood at his best

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Sunday, Sep 12, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

Collingwood at his best

By Ted Corbett

BIRMINGHAM, SEPT. 11. I suppose it's more newsworthy that the sun shone at Edgbaston today than that England beat Zimbabwe at its leisure by 152 runs with a dozen overs to bowl - the biggest margin between the countries - but the two factors mean that England goes to its only serious impediment to progress to the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy against Sri Lanka next Friday confidently.

It was always going to win this game but the ease of its victory was down to a sterling undefeated 80 from the man-of-the-match Paul Collingwood, batting with a genuine appreciation of a No. 6's role in one-day cricket. His runs came at close to one a ball and ensured that from the moment he reached the wicket England added 177 in 30 overs.

As you can imagine, the Zimbabwe bowling is not fearsome enough to make top class batsmen to wake in a cold sweat at 3 a.m. There was more passion in the tribal songs that came from the handful of spectators who gave the proceedings a fine musical background when Zimbabwe was batting.

The chants of central Africa made a novel sound at this ancient ground but the Barmy Army joined it and rather spoilt the effect.

England had been criticised in the newspapers for taking Zimbabwe too lightly on the rain-hit first day when it made 198 for five but this morning it applied itself so seriously that 101 runs came in 12 overs which meant 140 off the last 20 since Vikram Solanki, the hero of day one, got out.

Feeble attack

Geraint Jones played on to a Douglas Hondo yorker for 38 at 220 but Ashley Giles and Collingwood added 75 in the next eight overs and made this Zimbabwe attack look every bit as feeble as a third level attack should.

This England team would have been formidable even if Heath Streak had not been sitting in judgement in a television commentary box, Grant and Andy Flower playing for Essex and Henry Olonga paying more attention to opera than cricket these days. So it is not surprising that Giles, a No. 9 with Warwickshire, hit 23 off 22 balls and Collingwood began to enjoy himself rather than wearing the look of a man due to be hanged tomorrow.

"No. 6 is a hard position but I enjoy it," he said, "and it gives you the chance to accumulate a few runs if early wickets go. I hope I can get a few more scores like that."

In all Collingwood faced 93 balls in 109 minutes for his sixth one-day international score of more than fifty, hit Hondo for two sixes in succession and three sixes in total alongside three fours.

New treasure

David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, told me earlier this summer that Craig White's absence had been a major cause of England's poor performances in the NatWest tri-series but Collingwood at his best has many of the White characteristics. His bat is straight, his jaw juts and no-one ever took his wicket without a fight. He also bowls straight and true; not with White's unsettling yorker but with radar accuracy. Collingwood is England's new treasure and the selectors talk of replacing him at their peril.

Zimbabwe's batsmen began badly, lost four wickets for 26 and would have been shot out in quick time if Sibanda and Tetenda Taibu and Vusimuzi Sibanda had not put on 38 for the fifth wicket. Taibu, the class act in this weak batting line-up, made 40 before hitting his wicket as he whirled round in a bid to add a third six to his tally.

Eighteen-year-old Elton Chigumbura top-scored with 41 not out in the total of 147 and showed that the new coach Phil Simmons has some talent to work with though it may take the whole of his three-year stint as manager before he begins to get results from his young side.

As for England, marching on after three one-day wins in four games, it is already planning Sri Lanka's defeat. "We need to do our homework because they are a couple of slow bowlers who can give us trouble," said Steve Harmison after taking three for 29 and clearly shaking the younger Zimbabwe batsmen. "We needed this win to give us the confidence to surmount that hurdle."

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