“Not far off” England could match Oz ‘head to head’ in T20 WC final : Collingwood

GROS ISLET - Australia have not lost a single match in the World T20 Championship until now and have been playing some very competitive cricket, however, England skipper Paul Collingwood believes his side is “not far off” from the Kangaroos and can match their performance should the old rival reach the final.

Australia would be taking on defending champions Pakistan in the second semi-final at the Kensington Oval today (Friday, May 14).

Admitting that Australia is a strong side with their fast bowlers Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson leading the way, Collingwood said it would be a head to head encounter if Australia reaches the final.

“We are not far off, they are a very powerful side themselves and obviously have a lot of pace in their attack,” Collingwood said.

“It’s going to be a proper head to head that one on Sunday — if we were to play Australia. I think everybody on the outside would want to see an England-Australia game but you’ve got to be careful,” he added.

Collingwood, however, said no matter which team-Australia or Pakistan, joins England in the final, his team is ready for the challenge and would continue to play the way it has been doing in the tournament so far.

“Pakistan are still a very dangerous side, you’ve got to show them a lot of respect. They are the world champions so no matter who we come up against we are going to have to continue to play the way we have played and hopefully that will be good enough,” he said.

“We are just happy to be in the final but we haven’t won anything yet and I am going to keep drilling that into the guys,” Collingwood added. (ANI)