Strauss praises 'dangerous' Collingwood

PA Sport - Mon, 23 Nov 10:53:00 2009

Two gritty batsmen from different ends of the experience spectrum have put England 1-0 up against South Africa - and captain Andrew Strauss is delighted to have both in his team.

CRICKET England's Paul Collingwood - 0

Paul Collingwood marked his England record 171st one-day international cap with his fifth hundred - an unbeaten 105 - and Jonathan Trott, his partner in a 162-run stand, added 87 in a seven-wicket win with four overs to spare at Centurion.

Collingwood described his "perfect and proud" day - and Strauss underlined the well-deserved achievement hailing the Twenty20 skipper as "always dangerous" while labelling Trott as in "exceptional" form.

"Whenever there is a player with his temperament, they are always dangerous," Strauss said of Collingwood.

"They always like the difficult situations - and Colly's played a lot of his best innings for England when our backs have been against the wall. As an opponent, I know you worry about players like that."

Trott, meanwhile, put in a major contribution on only his second ODI appearance.

"Trotty's form on this tour has been exceptional," added Strauss. "We had no worries about him opening the batting - he's done it a lot for Warwickshire and is a quality player all round.

"He's a very determined character - there's no doubt about that.

"He loves batting, genuinely loves it - and allied to that, he's got a very solid technique which is well-suited to the international game.

"We don't want to put too much pressure on him. It is very early in his career, and he's shown he's got great ability - but we shouldn't expect great things of him every time he goes into bat."

PA Sport

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  1. Well done Colly, one of Englands top all arounders ever

    From GRAEME, on Tue 24 Nov 11:20AM

  2. brilliant colly well done!!

    From abhk a, on Tue 24 Nov 3:56AM

  3. Bob although I agree with a lot of what you are­ saying.. bugger me I fell asleep reading it... but then­ hang on a minute I finally got to the end and ..... is­ your top 5, not indeed the top 5 that took to the field­ on Sunday.... me thinks you may of been watching­ Eastbenders or XlaxFactor or something.......not the­ cricket eh ??

    From ricmeo67, on Tue 24 Nov 1:26AM

  4. I'm not his biggest fan by any stretch of the­ imagination, but in all fairness Paul Collingwood­ deserves a place in England's limited over teams­ (although I don't think he should be T20 captain,­ I'd go with Matt Prior if Strauss will not play).­ I'd have to check the records but he scored­ back-to-back ODI hundreds vs Australia during the 06/07­ series culminating in England winning the Standard Bank­ (I think) trophy and has been as consistant as anyone­ in the ODI set up, only KP has been more prolific as a­ run scorer for England over the same period.

    I was­ also delighted to see him return to his old fielding­ position at backward point. I don't know why he has­ tried to move into the slips of late; he's OK as a­ slipper, but not outstanding, whereas he is without­ question one of the best 3 in the world (Ponting and AB­ de Villiers are the other 2) in the in-field. The catch­ to remove de Villiers proves the point.

    For the 1st­ time in many years the batting line up in an England­ limited overs team looks to have some quality and­ depth. I've watched Joe Denly a lot this year and­ for me, there's something missing from his game. I­ think it's his demenaour or presence at the crease;­ he doesn't strike me as someone who quality­ opposition will ever fear. Alistair Cook will never be­ an ODI opening bat; like Atherton before, he needs to­ concentrate on what he is good at, Test cricket!

    So,­ if we can sort out the bowling attack (injuries­ allowing) to support James Anderson, England might­ finally be getting somewhere. I'd like to see­ Onions given an extended run and a chance to develop­ his skills as an ODI bowler. When all are fit,­ Anderson, Broad, Flintoff, Wright and Swann, with part­ time from Collingwood / Trott as required, England­ might have the makings of a competetive team, with­ Onions and Sidebottom as cover.

    Will we ever get to­ see the following team take the­ field.

    Strauss
    Trott
    Pieterson
    Collingwood
    Morgan (m

    From Bob, on Mon 23 Nov 9:44PM

  5. Yeah Pauly, most capped player, second highest run­ scorer, 99 wickets and one of the world's best­ fielders. Makes you wonder how he gets his place!

    From rob, on Mon 23 Nov 7:55PM

  6. Colly is a top performer, brilliant fielder , decent­ bowler and on his day can be a destroyer with the bat­ which he showed yesterday.Ye he,s struggled­ occaisonally over past couple of years but then which­ England player hasent?
    Gee Pauly your a hard man to­ pleeze!
    Lets make those Boks grovel.

    From MARK, on Mon 23 Nov 4:57PM
  7. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    about time deadwood earnt his place

    From PAULY, on Mon 23 Nov 12:26PM
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