Paul Collingwood makes powerful case for final push

England marched into the last four by defeating New Zealand by three wickets in the Super Eights yesterday, their third successive win at this stage of the tournament and a result made even more impressive by the absence of their best batsman.

Pietersen had returned to England to be with his wife Jessica for the birth of their baby son, but he is expected to be back in the Caribbean for Thursday's semi-finals. England's opponents will be determined by the outcome of today's matches between Australia and West Indies, and Sri Lanka and India.

"The timing seems pretty good and everyone's healthy, which is the main thing, so hopefully KP'll be back and raring to go for the semis," said captain Collingwood. "The way he's been batting is fantastic for the team — he's brought real power to the side. It'll be fantastic to have him back.

"We're improving all the time, thinking for ourselves out on the field, and it's exciting because we have a lot of power in the side and the bowlers really are adjusting to the wickets, which is crucial. You could see from the performance we wanted to keep the momentum going and that winning habit, which is important. But I want us to keep our feet on the ground — we haven't won anything yet."

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of England's progress in this tournament has been their refusal to panic in difficult situations.

Having kept the Black Caps to a total of 149 for six from their 20 overs in St Lucia, England suddenly slid from 60 for one to 66 for four when Pietersen's replacement Ravi Bopara, Michael Lumb and Collingwood departed in quick succession.

Instead of collapsing, Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright rebuilt the innings with a fifth-wicket stand of 52, and Tim Bresnan helped to finish the job by hitting 23 from 11 deliveries at the end.

Bresnan is rapidly becoming a pivotal member of England's limited-overs sides. The Yorkshireman also took one for 20 from his four overs, an all-round display that earned him the man-of-the-match award.

"You can gather a lot of momentum in this form of the game, and it was good that we did that with victory again," said Bresnan. "We were ruthless against New Zealand, and hopefully that bodes well. Whichever team we get in the semis, we have momentum and we're playing well, so bring them on."