England have a psychological edge heading to the next NatWest Challenge match at Lord’s on Saturday
Jenny Thompson09-Jul-2005
Paul Collingwood – ‘We know we’re heading in the right direction’ © Getty Images
The NatWest Challenge is very much alive as England and Australia head to Lord’s – the scene of the thrilling tie a week ago, and of the first Test to come. While comparisons between one-day and Test cricket are not always relevant, England will have received an undeniable psychological boost ahead of the Ashes with the nine-wicket win at Headingley, plus the way that they fought back in the NatWest Series final, and they head to Lord’s with a series lead.Yet Paul Collingwood believes that England still have room for improvement, despite crushing Australia in Yorkshire, a match in which he claimed 4 for 34. “Winning has given us a lot of confidence and we know we’re heading in the right direction,” he said, “but we also know as a team we’re 20 per cent off. We’re still not playing excellent cricket. There are still areas of the game when we’re not quite on the ball, there are little things here and there that we still need to improve on and we realise that.”One of those areas is Marcus Trescothick’s batting. He may have pummeled an unbeaten century at Headingley, but Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee – whose form is becoming ever more vital to Australia – had him in all kinds of trouble during the opening 10 overs, and he was caught off a no-ball on 5. “There’s still a long way to go,” Collingwood admitted, “but we can improve and the good thing about this team is that we’re winning and we can still improve.”Collingwood said the turning point in England’s one-day confidence came last year in the Champions Trophy when they finally defeated Australia after 14 matches. “The ICC game was important because we hadn’t beaten them in one-day cricket for such a long time. That was when we realised we could beat Australia and this year has been a progression from what we’ve done over the last couple of years, winning in West Indies and going to South Africa and winning the Test series there.” England are expected to name an unchanged line-up, with their main selection dilemma being who to have as their Supersub: whether to retain Vikram Solanki or to bring in Sussex’s Matt Prior.Australia, as ever, are in buoyant mood despite an unusually poor start to their tour – and they are still mindful of the impending Ashes. “We are on the right track,” their coach John Buchanan told reporters at Lord’s on Saturday. “Part credit to England, but it’s more in our house to make sure that’s rectified. We could choose to make it a problem but I think the calibre of this side will choose to make it a challenge. I’m looking forward to the Tests. It’s now our time, our turn to deliver the goods.”There are question marks over whether Jason Gillespie will play. His poor form continued at Headingley, with ten erratic overs costing 66, prompting Ricky Ponting to admit that he would discuss with Gillespie whether he wanted to rest for the remainder of the NatWest Challenge. But, with a thigh injury to the pace-bowling allrounder Shane Watson it is likely that Gillespie will be retained in the team. Mike Kasprowicz is one of the options as Watson’s replacement, with Brad Hogg retained as Supersub. With just one practice match for Australia before the Ashes, Kasprowicz needs more cricket – and this match presents one of the final opportunities for him to regain his lost confidence.All eyes, though, will be on Mike Hussey who, who along with Andrew Symonds, has been the in-form batsman for Australia. Although he is not in the Test squad, Ponting has indicated that Hussey, who has struck 45, 62* and 42* in his last three one-dayers, could be in the frame should injuries hit the squad.Both sides have agreed to play the remaining two matches despite the terrorist attacks that hit London on Thursday. Having reviewed security measures, the Australian management gave the go-ahead, while the MCC have confirmed that they will be stepping up their security efforts.Australia (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Mike Hussey, 8 Mike Kasprowicz, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath. Supersub: Brad HoggEngland (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Michael Vaughan, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Darren Gough, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Simon Jones. Supersub: Vikram Solanki
