The Hindu : Collingwood is England's hero

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 21, 2002

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Collingwood is England's hero

By Ted Corbett

PERTH Dec. 20. Sri Lanka admitted a tour selection mistake before its game against England in the VB one-day series at the WACA today by dropping long serving wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana and then dropped catches so often that England was able to score 258 for nine.

Sri Lanka was 46 for four before the first 15 overs were gone and by the 23rd over defeat was inevitable. Its form was no more impressive than that at Brisbane and it went down to its second successive defeat by 95 runs, after the last five wickets fell for 19.

England was saved by Paul Collingwood, its quiet man from Durham. He is a cultivated batsman, 26-years-old and clearly possessed of a cool head yet he is distinctly unpopular among the pundits who argue with some reason that England would be better served by one of the Test batsmen like Michael Vaughan and Mark Butcher who have spent the last two weeks testing out the virtues of "active rest''. (You can imagine the hilarity that has greeted that phrase in Australia. Not since David Gower announced a policy of "optional nets'' in West Indies 15 years ago have so many had so much fun).

When Collingwood arrived at the wicket, Marcus Trescothick, Nick Knight and Ronnie Irani (five runs in four innings) had gone for 39 and soon afterwards Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart had departed with 93 on the board. It was a severe trial for Collingwood and, although he was dropped on 19 he came through with flying colours. He added 29 with Ian Blackwell, a blacksmith of a batsman who hit three fours in 19 off 22 balls. The other saviour was Craig White who, like Collingwood, inspires anger verging on hysteria among some critics. The truth is slightly different. In a tour blighted by injury, errors in selection and daft decisions on the field White has borne more than his share of the workload. He is not Keith Miller, nor Gary Sobers, nor Ian Botham but, as he showed today with 48 off 64 balls, all he needs is the right lead. Collingwood provided that lead with his first one-day century and the two broke the England seventh wicket record while they added 100 in 22 overs. White was out when Collingwood still needed ten for his hundred and for a while, as Andrew Caddick took singles at the end of successive overs, it looked as if he might fall short. Rather more sensible batting from 20-year-old James Anderson gave him the magic figure from 123 balls with four fours and two sixes.

Caddick's first over cost nine runs and those who have watched his career somersault this way and that feared that he was in for a dreadful night. Instead he produced five superb overs, had Marvan Atapattu caught at slip, took a steepling catch himself off Jayasuriya and induced Mubarak to drive loosely to Hussain at mid-on.

Anderson, who had a fine first spell of 7-1-23-1, forced Sangakkara to edge to Stewart and four were down in the 12th. When Caddick completed his ten overs with three for 30 - and went limping off with a twisted ankle - England must have thought the game was won. White removed Jayawardene in his second over; half the side out for 91 and the muttering that the Sri Lankans travel badly growing louder. You could have imagined today that they had left home without compass, maps, sextant, passport and visa.

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