England's decision to give former all-rounder Paul Collingwood a coaching role for the upcoming limited-overs tour of the West Indies and then the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh seems like a smart move.

England, who are still smarting in the other sense of the word from their defeats in all forms of the game in Australia, must pick themselves up for the trip to the Windies and then attempt to get themselves right for an assault on the World T20 - a competition they memorably won of course back in 2010.

And in bringing in someone like Collingwood they have on board a winner and a great character who can add plenty to the staff as they plot to bounce back effectively from the dismal tour down under.

The Durham skipper has been named as assistant to limited overs coach Ashley Giles and it is hoped he will inject some much-needed postitivity into the England camp after a dire winter. Colly is held in high regard by cricket betting fans and many felt he called it a day too early when retiring from Test cricket in January 2011.

His experience in defying the cricket betting odds and leading England to the World T20 title four years ago means he knows exactly what it takes to win the competition and his role may well prove vital if England do go deep into the competition. At that stage it will be all about holding your nerve while ensuring the best and most explosive T20 players can be at their best.

Collingwood's playing career - especially in limited overs cricket - speaks for itself. The 37-year-old is England's most capped ODI cricketer and leading ODI run scorer so he clearly has something to give in terms of coaching if he can pass on some of his old skills to the squad.

However, maybe more importantly, Collingwood can offer a fresh input and help revitalise some struggling players. Having not been around the camp in Australia, he will enter into his new role without any pre-conceived negativity from the failed Ashes and One-Day tours and can be a breath of fresh air in the upcoming months as England aim to regain their pride and move on into a new post-Andy Flower era.

Thank you for reading.

England tour of India
1st Test: 15-19 November
Day 2
Brief scores: Ind 521/8 dec. Pujara 206*, Sehwag 117, Yuvraj 74; Swann 5, Anderson, Pietersen, Patel 1 each; Economy rates: Anderson 2.77, Swann 2.82, Patel 3.09, Pietersen 3.12, Bresnan 3.84, Broad 4.04
Eng 41-3 (18 overs) Cook 22*, KP 6*; Ashwin 2, Ojha 1
England vs India is usually exciting and the 1st Test at Ahmedabad is proving to be no different. Under Alastair Cook, England set out on a brand new mission - that of triumphing in India. England's record in India is not something to be proud of, but they have a better chance of winning this time. England were used to losing but their approach has been changing since Ashes 2005. The captaincy of Paul Collingwood has done them much good and they have cared more about winning in recent years. This is only his 3rd Test as captain but I believe Alastair Cook is a strong and stable person and he can replicate Collingwood. Ryan Sidebottom and James Anderson, who is still here, prospered by the faith showed by Collingwood and it seems Cook believes in his players as well. He is the one who played a big role in bringing Kevin Pietersen back for this series. KP must be raring to score big after his absence from England matches. India is also keen to win as they are seeing this as "revenge series". Their drubbing in England last year (Tests: England beat India 4-0; One-day: England beat India 3-0 in a 5 match series; Twenty20: England beat India 1-0) is fresh in their minds. Unfortunately, Suresh Raina, who commented he wants to give some pain back, is not playing.

The only England bowler who can be praised in this match is Graeme Swann. The man never fails to perform. He does what Trott does with the bat. Other England bowlers lacked lustre and clearly missed injured Steven Finn. As is often said, Nick Compton is tailor made for Test cricket and scored runs in the warm-up games as well. Cook and Compton looked like a solid pair and I won't blame Compton for getting out the way he did. Some deliveries are such that any batsman can be pardoned. James Anderson, who is the permanent nightwatchman for England, was sent in yet again, though he didn't last long this time. England always sends a nightwatchman in this situation nowadays but it definitely shouldn't be this way. I think a nightwatchman is sent when only a couple of overs are left and you can't afford to lose a wicket and perhaps to surprise the opposition, since they have plans for the big batsmen. But, this is a decision which should be taken on impulse. A nightwatchman is not always needed, like when you are trailing behind by 500 and can't let the opposition mentally dominate you. India celebrated the fall of three wickets today. And England were shaken up thrice. Now, when either side looks at the scoreboard, they'll see the wickets as three, not two, even though No.11s usually score less than 10.

Adressing the media after the play today, Samit Patel said Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell can smash big tons. I agree, these 3 are the key. Alastair Cook is most consistent, Kevin Pietersen can dominate and change the game on his own and Ian Bell has often succeeded in helping England to draw.

More...

• Flintoff believes KP saga can be forgotten
• Will we see the Same KP?
• Performance equals power: Kevin Pietersen beats ECB
• England's ship was meant to sink
• Not The Most Conservative Sport Anymore

England vs Sri Lanka 1st One-day International: 28 June 2011

Kennington Oval, London: At the time I'm writing this, England are 35/1. I was sleeping until 13:00 GMT. So, when I switched the TV on, it was raining. However, that isn't what I focused on. I saw the scoreboard and after seeing Alastair Cook in the team, I wondered if this is some old match. Then I saw Ian Bell and I was more doubtful about some old game's scoreboard. The, Bresnan and I was almost certain it's an old match. Then, I saw Dernbach and I realised this is today's match. Oh yeah, I had forgotten Alastair Cook has been made captain. I was just figuring how many changes they have made to the team which Stuart Broad captained on Saturday. And I was thinking they have over taken Pakistan in amusing us.

This does raise questions about my memory, but more than that, it asks us, would Alastair Cook be in the team had he not been captain? Well, he hasn't played a one-day game in a year and the last one came in Bangladesh, where he captained. Prior to that, he hadn't played in a year either. So, I'm guessing no, Alastair Cook only plays in shorter formats when England want to try him as captain or when they don't want anyone else as captain. Like, he did in South Africa in late '09. If he would have been gifted a place in the side in the Word Cup for being unstoppable in the Ashes down under, that would have made sense, but this doesn't.

Let's go back to the game on Saturday and the blonde one. England had some hope until Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan were batting, after that they played for formality. This isn't the first Twenty20 International in which they didn't have victory in mind, so it wasn't a surprise. Paul Collingwood, who retired from Tests, has been left to the sidelines. Stuart Broad was chosen as captain, ahead of the one who captained England to their first ICC tournament victory. Perhaps they are thinking too much about the future rather than the present. He wasn't included in the one-day squad either, so ECB must have put an end to his career. The Englishmen usually depart from the team like this, with no farewell, facing the ECB's brashness.

Here are the changes England made to their Twenty20 side (comparing to the side which starred against Australia in January: Bell, Davies, Bresnan, Yardy and Shahzad dropped for Lumb, Bopara, Patel, Broad, Dernbach. Of course England hadn't dropped Broad in January, they just can't do that, he was injured. In my opinion, Bell and Davies were doing their job fine so they shouldn't have been dropped. And then, Bell has been in a sublime form lately. Bopara hasn't been among the runs for a while and Patel failed to impress me on Saturday. His run out was an embarrassment and his bowling had nothing special. I was excited to see Dernbach in, who turned out to be England's most inexperienced, yet best bowler in this game.

The only Twenty20 International on this tour, was played after a Test series, in which England dominated expectedly, but one which failed to generate much interest, due to being spoiled by rain. There were six changes made to the Test XI to make the side more "suitable" to the Twenty20 game. But, as emails to the Sky commentary team suggested, the Test would have done a lot better than this side so playing the same team wouldn't have caused any harm. One big positive a lot of people and the media is deriving from the game is the comeback of Kevin Pietersen into form. However, in my post The Preview: Sri Lanka hopes for turnaround; England aim to continue domination, I had stated that he is already in form and there is nothing to worry about. The difference is that, he announced himself on the stage in this Twenty20 so ruthlessly that he made everyone against him know that there is no point in questioning the man, who is as talented as anyone can hope to be. The truth is far from him being in the team for his past record.

So, much to talk about and so little time! Anyways, post your views in the form below or on twitter (@jimmymycrushie). Hopefully, we'll see some cricket today. For now, take care. Cheers.

Other posts:

• Centurians Cook, Strauss and flat pitch get Englan...
• Aleem Dar and Hussey leave England wrecked 
• England fights back on Day 2: The game is on!
• Ashes 2010 gets underaway: England thumped on Day ...
• The misery called English cricket

The English played like 20 year old reckless beings

Kudos to Alastair Cook and Paul Collingwood. To Alastair Cook, for facing the challenge and coming out as the top performer of the Ashes 2010 by quite a distance. And to Paul Collingwood, for quitting Test cricket. England were reluctant to drop him and he had his chances but the continuity of his tough times have been too long in recent times. He has made it easy for himself and for England. Many cricketers want to end their career on a high, so as to be remembered. And not just remembered, but remembered as successful. But this was the right time to go. He is 34 and will continue to be England's captain in the shortest format and play in One day Internationals and IPL.

The Indian Premier League is a funny thing and provides a lot of stories for the media. Recently, the auction for the 4th edition.  Kevin Pietersen (previously Royal Challengers Bangalore) will play for Deccan Chargers, Stuart Broad (IPL debutant) for Kings XI Punjab, Eoin Morgan (previously Royal Challengers Bangalore) for Kolkata Knight Riders, Paul Collingwood (previously Delhi Daredevils) for Rajasthan Royals, Owais Shah (previously Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders) for Kochi, Dmitri Mascarenhas (previously Rajasthan Royals) for Kings XI Punjab, Michael Lumb (previously Rajasthan Royals) for Deccan Charger. The list of the unsold is obviously long. But some unknown players have been 'bought' for huge amounts while Graeme Swann, Matt Prior, Luke Wright, Ravi Bopara, Chris Gayle, James Anderson etc. have gone unsold. And in this bid for humans, it is a humiliation for the unsold. Sourav Ganguly and Brian Lara have also gone unsold but I don't think there is anything wrong in ignoring past heroics. James Anderson is a must-have in Tests but not in Twenty20s. The schedule of the English and ego-clashes of BCCI and ECB must have also been considered.

Meanwhile, in the cleaner form of cricket, England have made a record of winning 8 Twenty20 Internationals in a row, overtaking Pakistan and South Africa. The last time England lost a Test series was in Feb-Mar '09, one day series/tournament in Sep-Oct '09, Twenty20 series/tournament in June '09.

Other posts:

• England set for 3-1 Ashes victory
• Year End Specials: Highest Wicket Takers in 2010 
• England retain the Ashes in style
• KO: England hammers Australia, gone in 2 sessions 
• Australia on the way to leveling the Ashes

England vs Australia 4th Test: 26-30 December
Day 1
England continued Christmas celebrations by crushing the Aussies at Melbourne on Day 1. I, surprised by the selection of Tim Bresnan, wasn't expecting this. England for Bressie over Finn, a mistake in my book. Prompted by the dismal performance of English batsmen, Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss picked Bresnan for a longer batting order. The batting should be stronger, not longer. When they fall, they do. True, the batsmen are good but falter under pressure. So work needs to be done on their mental attitude rather than tail-enders' batting. England already has Swann, Tremlett, no need for another bowler who can bat a bit. Tail-enders' usually only contribute when there is no pressure. And it isn't Finn's job to take wickets and score runs too. And my mates, you shall remember, Finn was the leading wicket-taker of the series before this Test.

Nevertheless, England seamers knocked up old rivals at the MCG in front of a near 90,000 witnesses on the Boxing Day. Jimmy Anderson, Chris Tremlett with assistance from Tim Bresnan have set the path for a 2-1 lead in the Ashes with one Test to go. Australia's 98 is their 2nd lowest total on this ground. Their lowest being 83 against India. This is also Australia's 4th score below 120 since 1990 in home Tests. Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss are now 4th on the list of opening pair with most century stands. They have had 10 so far. The ones above them are the pairs of Greenidge and Haynes, Hobbs and Sutcliffe, Hayden and Langer. They are tied with Chauhan and Gavaskar, Gambhir and Sehwag, Slater and Taylor for the 4th position. James Anderson is now the leading wicket-taker in the series with 16 wickets.

Paul Collingwood has saved England quite a few times but he also goes on a spree of runless matches. And England cannot afford that. However, finding a replacement isn't easy. Carberry and Morgan are in reckoning. I'd go for Carberry, looks determined.



Brief scores:

• Aus 98 in 42.5 overs
• Eng 157/0 in 47 overs (Cook 80, Strauss 64)

England won the toss and choose to bat first. England lost a few wickets and Collingwood had to go off the field because he was having a migraine. He tried to stay, the physio was called twice but it was just unbearable. I was thinking that he should go. Was struggling to concentrate so it was hard to bat well anyway. Could return when he would feel better. He was batting with Belly and Morgan and Wright were yet to bat. The worst that could happen, is England losing a one-day. It wasn't worth risking his health. Looked all right when I saw him in the balcony shortly after he had gone off. Colly came back as soon as the wicket fell. Belly always plays classy shots and usually gives his wicket away after an impressive start. But he was a bit unlucky to be bowled like that. Morgan was amazing. Loved watching him bat, like his other 80s and centuries.

Pakistan's openers smashed England all around the park in the first 9 overs (except the 4th over by Anderson and 5th by Broad). The first wicket was the most important in the match, the turnaround. Broady took it and Collingwood took a stunning catch, showing us that no matter how old he is, he is still athletic. Collingwood was the world's best fielder but his fielding has dipped down in the past few months or so. All wickets are important but breakthroughs are important because the opposition needs partnerships. Pakistan got off to a flyer and if Akmal and Hafeez would continue to hit in the same fashion for a while, the stage would be set for Pakistan to win. Akmal and Hafeez were quite upset by each other. On one occasion, Hafeez (at the running end) wanted a run but Akmal (the striker) didn't, it wasn't a run, Hafeez was sent back and Akmal was furious. A ball before Hafeez got out (the first wicket), Akmal kept standing, Hafeez was the striker and wanted a run. It's harder for the batsman to make it so I reckon Akmal wasn't right there. When Hafeez got out, he stared at Akmal, as if saying "Wouldn't have happened if we had taken that run, you increased the pressure." We saw a few other confusions while running between the Pakistani players. The 9th wicket (Ajmal) was a run out by Moggy, who was ecstatic, ran onto the field and hugged Broad tightly. Seemed like they couldn't be separated. Lol. Wright played in place of Yardy, who is ill. I wanted Yardy to go out anyway. Wright did pretty well with the ball. No need to play 5 bowlers, Colly bowls too. Not to forget, Pakistan's bowling was magnificent again in the death.

Man Of The Match: Eoin Morgan

Man Of The Series: Andrew Strauss

Hard to chase under lights and England are better at defending anyway. Before Moggy came into the side, England used to try to preserve wickets and lose wickets as soon as they would try to accelerate and usually fall short of 10-20 runs. Old school cricket. But Morgan made a difference, won England games while chasing.

Delighted to see England win. Always great to finish season or tour with a win. Morgan, Broad and Swann were the stars of the match. England couldn't have done it without these. England-Pakistan matches in England are always exciting and this tour too gave us some thrilling clashes. England will have a boot camp before their first practice match against Western Australia on November 5. They will play 2 more practice matches - against South Australia and Australia A before the 1st Ashes Test on November 25. I don't mind this long break. I think it's good for the players. The summer was very long and the Ashes is very important. Hopefully, it will be exciting and they need to be in the best state of mind before it. After a long summer, they will look forward to spending some time with their family, which is good. This tour was tough, given the allegations and other off-field controversies.

Until next time, take care. Cheers!

 Wallpapers: Jimmy and Belly Wallpaper!
                          Jimmy Anderson Wallpaper
                          James Anderson Cool Blue Wallpaper
                          James Anderson Wallpaper

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England started day 2 on 331/4. Collingwood went for 82 and Morgan 130. England's tail was brilliant. England lost 6 wickets for 23 runs on day 2. Swann was the best who didn't only give his wicket away but he was also guilty when Prior was ran out. England finished at 354 and Asif with figures of 5 for 77. Pakistan dropped lots of catches, as usual. 7 of the 10 wickets were taken as lbw or bowled. So this is why Asif bowls a lot of deliveries at the stumps.
                The crush of my life, birthday boy, James Anderson bowled impressively and took 3 of the first 6 wickets. Finn, making a comeback after his strengthing programme took the other 3. Strauss gave the new ball to Broad instead of Finn, which I reckon as not the right thing to do. And Strauss did not attack after Pakistan were struggling at 47/6. Shoaib Malik and Aamer shared a partnership of 58 till Anderson finally removed Malik. Pakistan lost 2 more wickets before bad light stopped play. They will start day 3 at 147/9.

I see trees in green, red roses too and England in blue! Yeah, after playing seven ODIs in red, England are back in blue. England and Pakistan started the Champions Trophy in perfect style by winning two matches. England lost their third to New Zealand while Pakistan too lost their third match to unbeaten Australia. England were the underdogs going into the tournament, now they are the favourites! England played their first match at Wanderers, where the pitch helps the bowlers. Winning the toss at Wanderers almost wins you the match. James Anderson and Graham Onions striked early with Sri Lanka struggling at 17/4. England then let Sri Lanka recover a bit. The fifth wicket fell at 81 and England should have brought jimmy back to bowl them out quickly. It was clear that England came out with plans and they wanted to stick to their plans. Collingwood and Wright bowled some overs. They were bowling well but they are not wicket takers. Broad and Anderson then finished the Sri Lankan innings for 212. England lost two early wickets and that scared me a bit because the only England batsman who looked reliable throughout the summer was gone. But Colly, Shah, Morgan and Prior finished the job with the bat. Strauss must not be happy that England lost 4 wickets but nevertheless, at least they chased it. This match was held at Wanderers, where the ball swung. And when the ball swings, there is no one better than James Anderson. I thought he deserved the Man Of The Match with figured of 3-20 in 9.3 overs. But Collingwood it, must be happy. Colly and Shah were very keen to make their mark in this tournament, didn't do well in the one day series against Australia where Shah got the starts but got out hit wicket once, run out a few times.
England did much better in their 2nd match. Winning the toss and choosing to bat first at Centurion, England scored 323! Unbelievable! Strauss can now trust his batsmen a bit. England scored most of their tuns in the middle overs. Shah and Collingwood shared a partnership of 163. Shah fell at 98, Collingwood 82. Morgan made 67 in just 34 deliveries! England smacked South Africa for 12 sixes. I had heard Kepler Wessels saying that England don't have power players. What does he think now? Most commentators had completely written off England, especially their batting. True, it's hard to expect England to score 323 but I had always thought that England have power players, even without KP and Freddie. England have proved that winning is not about 2-3 players, it's about the team effort, the fielding, the confidence and the spirit. Nick Knight had said that England have the potential but so they have the confidence to be a good one day side? They are not as bad in one day as people suggest. They defeated South Africa 4-0 last year and West Indies 3-2 earlier this year. West Indies are not as good as they used to be but this series was played before their top players had feud with their Board. Even then, West Indies wasn't among top teams but most teams lose when they play in the Caribbean, England didn't. Back to the match against South Africa, Smith played a crappy innings of 141. Crappy because his shots didn't impress me, he was dropped, he was out lbw, wasn't given. England had plans for Gibbs, which worked. Anderson took the first wicket. When teams are chasing 300+, they should try to keep the wickets in hand rather than trying to score at a high run rate. When Swanny bowled Duminy, I thought England should win it from here and when Anderson bowled Boucher, it was over for South Africa. South Africa had to score 313 to keep their chances of going into the semi final alive but they didn't. Anderson finished with figures of 3-42. He took one of his wickets with cross seam, which was a bit surprising and he also bowled an in-swinger in the last ten overs, which was awesome. He does swing the ball both ways consistently.
England lost the toss at Wanderers. New Zealand decided to bowl first as expected. England were strauggling at 18/3 when Collingwood came in, who showed some resistance. Collinwood scored 40, Bopara 30. England were 117/9 when James Anderson cameo out to bat and England took the batting powerplay! As if jimmy is a hitter. England do all the funny things so why not take the batting powerplay when Sidebottom and Anderson are batting? Jimmy may not be a hitter but Sidebottom did hit a few boundaries and jimmy hit a shot which cleared the fielders in the circle! It was a weird shot and it was the first time I have seen jimmy play a shot like that. I think he should just stick to his natural style of batting. We now how stubborn he can be. He showed that at Cardiff. New Zealand let the last pair add 29 to the total. England were bowled out for 146. Though they did well to bat for 43.1 overs. After two fantastic matches, England gave us a horrible show of batting. But we forgive them for it, we are too busy celebrating the two wins. They cannot be blamed for this. They were victims of a deadly pitch. The pitch helped the Kiwi bowlers in the whole innings. Even M S Dhoni took a wicket here in India's last match against West Indies. He hasn't take any wicket in first class matches. New Zealand started their run chase pretty well McCullum's slogs and edges, which went for fours. Lady luck was with them. May be because England players weren't looking as good as they usually do. The first wicket fell at 84. New Zealand were 113/2 and 118/4. They chased the target with the loss of 6 wickets so the momentum is still with England going into the semi final. Broad took 4, Anderson 1, Sidebottom 1.