England get a buzz as confident Collingwood eyes global crown

Less than 48 hours after winning the NatWest series against India, England were in Johannesburg preparing for the start of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20, the brash little brother which promises to upstage its tired old 50-over relative with big crowds at three venues over a two-week period.

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Up for grabs: Collingwood shows off the trophy

Little did England know, when they decided to bring Twenty20 specialists like Darren Maddy, Jeremy Snape and James Kirtley here, that they would be so impressive in the longer format, but only Ian Bell and the injured Ravi Bopara are missing of those who starred in the 4-3 defeat of India.

Now captain Paul Collingwood hopes that his combination of recognised England players and those who have thrived in Twenty20 at domestic level can go where no England side have gone before in nine World Cups and numerous ICC Trophies by winning a world limited overs event.

'It would be very special to win here,' said Collingwood. 'A lot of people have talked down Twenty20 but to us whenever we pull on an England shirt it's an important occasion. It's only been a couple of days since we won at Lord's but I think the quick turnaround could work in our favour. We're buzzing and we're match fit.'

South Africa kick off the tournament in Johannesburg on Tuesday against the West Indies with England, placed in Group B, facing Zimbabwe on Thursday and Australia on Friday here.

The top two in each of the four three-team groups progress to the second round. Unless one of the four minnows prevail, England will face South Africa at Newlands on Sunday, and then New Zealand and India in Durban next Tuesday and Wednesday.

As long as England defeat Zimbabwe it does not really matter if they lose to Australia — other than prestige and $15,000 in prize money — as no points will be carried through to the second stage and the 'Super Eight' seedings have been decided for logistical reasons.

England would be excused for wishing, with hindsight, that they could have brought the whole 50-over squad here but at least injuries have allowed Jimmy Anderson and Dimi Mascarenhas to gatecrash the Twenty20 party.

And, in Maddy and Snape, England can call on two of the players largely responsible for Leicestershire winning two of the five domestic Twenty20 titles as well as this season's leading short-form wicket-taker in the born-again Chris Schofield.

A successful tournament here — and the ICC have finally got something right by making tickets affordable — will only increase the erosion of the 50-over game in favour of a format which is now booming in all the established Test countries except India.

It will not be difficult for this event to compare favourably with a World Cup earlier this year in the West Indies which lasted an interminable two months and provided only three last-over finishes.

In contrast, in the 19 Twenty20 internationals so far staged, there has been a tie and two victories by two runs. Any tie here will result in a bowl-out at unguarded stumps to decide the winner.

That England have played in six of those 19 games, together with the domestic experience of the less exalted members of their party, means they should possess the know-how to make an impact. But they may be handicapped by having no warm-up matches.

Australia will start as hot favourites even though they were thrashed by eight wickets by South Africa in a practice game here and they will either be fresh or rusty, depending on your point of view, having not played a competitive international since the World Cup.

England will be hoping that Andrew Flintoff stays fit — the state of his injured left ankle will be assessed daily — and the unlikely call-ups relish the big stage. If that happens they might even go better than beating India over seven 50-over matches.

How it works and when they play

Group A: Bangladesh, South Africa (A1), West Indies (A2).

Group B: England (B2), Australia (B1), Zimbabwe.

Group C: New Zealand (C1), Sri Lanka (C2), Kenya.

Group D: India (D2), Pakistan (D1), Scotland.

GROUP STAGE

Today: South Africa v West Indies (Johannesburg, 5.0pm)

Tomorrow: New Zealand v Kenya, (Durban, 9.0am); Pakistan v Scotland (Durban, 1.0pm); Australia v Zimbabwe (Cape Town, 5.0pm).

Thursday: West Indies v Bangladesh (Johannesburg, 9.0am); England v Zimbabwe (Cape Town, 1.0pm); India v Scotland (Durban, 5.0pm).

Friday: Sri Lanka v Kenya, (Johannesburg, 9.0am); Australia v England (Cape Town, 1.0pm); India v Pakistan (Durban, 5.0pm).

Saturday: Sri Lanka v New Zealand, (Johannesburg, 1.0pm); South Africa v Bangladesh (Cape Town, 5.0pm).

SUPER EIGHTS

Seeds A1, B2, C1, D2 in one group, seeds A2, B1, C2, D1 in the other. If any non-seed qualifies from their group, they will replace the eliminated seeds in the draw.

Sunday: C1 v D2, (Johannesburg, 9.0am); B1 v A2, (Cape Town, 1.0pm); A1 v B2 (Cape Town, 5.0pm).

Monday: D1 v C2, (Johannesburg, 5.0pm).

Tuesday Sep 18: C1 v B2 (Durban, 9.0pm); B1 v D1 (Johannesburg, 12 noon); A2 v C2 (Johannesburg, 4.0pm).

Wednesday Sep 19: A1 v C1 (Durban, 12 noon); B2 v D2 (Durban, 4.0pm).

Thursday Sep 20: B1 v C2 (Cape Town, 8.0am); A2 v D1 (Cape Town, 12 noon); A1 v D2 (Durban, 4.0pm).

Saturday Sep 22: Semi-finals (Cape Town, 12 noon & Durban, 4.0pm).

Monday Sep 24: Final (Johannesburg, 12 noon).