CRICKET : Paul Collingwood believes Friday night’s victory over South Africa gives England a psychological edge, but he insists that his side must now build on the performance from the Wanderers.
Paul Collingwood believes Friday night’s victory over South Africa gives England a psychological edge, but he insists that his side must now build on the performance from the Wanderers.
The Durham all-rounder was one of the stand-out players with a half-century alongside a 54-ball 85 from man-of-the-match Eoin Morgan as the tourists secured a one-run Duckworth/Lewis win – the sixth limited-overs triumph over the Proteas in their last seven encounters.
“We don’t play a lot of international Twenty20 cricket, so it’s important to get the wins under your belt – to gain in things like confidence in that form of the game. We’ve got a lot of building to do before the World Cup,” said Collingwood. “This is a little mini-series we want to win, and we’ve now put ourselves in a good position to win it.”
He added: “But we’ve got to go out there on Sunday in different conditions at a different size ground and play as good we did here.”
Collingwood’s South Africa counterpart Graeme Smith downplayed the significance of the result.
“I don’t think anyone’s really taken much of an advantage out of this game,” he said.
“I think it’s pretty level pegging. I think if had gone down to the wire, it could have been a great game.”
However, the Proteas captain admitted it was another warning message that the tourists cannot be taken lightly.
He continued: “From my perspective, it’s a realisation that it is going to be a tough series, it’s going to be good and exciting – England have come here to play.
“We’ve got to improve still on our bowling department, the execution of some of the plans. I think it just bodes well for an exciting performance on Sunday.”
