Samuels backs Badree as World T20 'trump card'

Croft: A very efficient West Indies performance

Marlon Samuels was optimistic that the West Indies have found the right formula heading into their World T20 title defence in Bangladesh. Following a Man-of-the-Match performance in the opening T20 win against England in Barbados, where he struck an unbeaten 69 off 46 and picked up 2 for 21, he believed that their spin attack will be the key to retaining their trophy.

England laboured against West Indies' spinners - their combined tally was 6 for 45 off 10 overs - Samuels labelled Samuel Badree in particular as their "trump card" to bolster the team's chances of becoming the first team to defend a World T20 title, a feat Samuels tagged as "a personal target".

"Sunil Narine and Badree will be crucial players for us in Bangladesh's conditions which suit West Indies cricket," he said. "Badree's a wonderful bowler and he showed it again today by picking up early wickets.

"We were surprised that the pitch favoured spin because Bajan pitches are usually known more for their pace but regardless of the pitch and its bounce, we have some pretty good spinners who use the new ball well. I think England will have to go back to the drawing board and reconsider using more spinners.

"We knew the record of this ground and we wanted to post a total of around 160 or 165. It was good for us to get more than we bargained for. We had a plan and put in an all-round performance and it all came together for us at the end so we have to keep working hard at it and come up with the goods more often than not."

However, Samuels acknowledged West Indies could improve on their performance, particularly towards the closing overs where they were restricted by England. Samuels added that they would not be underestimating Stuart Broad's team, who came from 1-0 down to claim the one-day series in Antigua.

Samuels said this series was particularly important for him as he works his way back to full fitness follow the chronic wrist injury which forced him home from the New Zealand tour and the groin problem which restricted him to one ODI last week. He is crucial to West Indies' middle order which will be lacking the power of Kieron Pollard for the World T20 but Samuels is not feeling any added pressure.

"It's tough coming off back-to-back injuries last year. I put in some serious work to regain fitness and I'm still getting there. There's no pressure regarding Pollard. We're usually a bunch of confident guys but not too overconfident. We'll take it ball-by-ball, game-by-game and whatever the team wants or requires of me, I'll go out there and try to do it to the best of my ability."

While Samuels kept his cool with the bat, in the field there was a heated exchanged with Ravi Bopara but he played down the argument as "in the heat of the moment" and said there was no lingering issue even though Broad suggested otherwise. "Ravi said something out there that he shouldn't have and I didn't like it. But he came and apologized after. He's a wonderful person and a great cricketer and I have a good relationship with him," Samuels said.

West Indies management also confirmed that Narine will be undergoing a CT scan on Monday on his knee after an attempted slide to save a boundary resulted in his foot getting stuck in the ground and hurting his need. He left the field after two overs and with West Indies winning comfortable was not risked again.

West Indies remained optimistic and deemed the scan as "a precautionary measure" as advised by the team's physiotherapist. They also allayed concerns over Badree who left the field for treatment on his hand after dropping a stiff return catch off Eoin Morgan as "nothing too serious."

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Broad fitness concern for World T20

Dobell: England selection was unsuitable for conditions

Stuart Broad will sit out England's next two T20s against West Indies in a bid to ensure his fitness for the World T20, with the captain revealing that he has been managing a knee problem with injections over the winter. Broad said after England's defeat in the first T20 that he was suffering from patellar tendonitis, which flared up during the third ODI in Antigua.

Broad downplayed the risk to his participation in the World T20, saying he "should be okay", but with less than two weeks until England's first game in Bangladesh, against New Zealand on March 22, it is cause for concern. Broad said he had already had "four or five" cortisone injections to his right knee, due to the workload on England's disastrous tour of Australia, and admitted that a long-term solution would have to be found.

"I've had injections for a while now, throughout the winter, it's been getting stiffer and stiffer," he said. "I caught my knee in the ground in Antigua and it swelled up. I struggled to move it a little bit, so I won't be playing the next couple. I should be okay assuming the injection works, which generally they do. It gradually got worse throughout the winter, with the amount of bowling I've been doing - no real break - so it's something I need to act on now to make sure I'm fit and firing for the World T20."

He conceded that an operation may be required at some point, though was hopeful of being able to take a full part in England's home season, after which there is only a limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka until the end of the year.

"I'll have to have a rehab period at some stage in the next 12 months, between six to ten weeks. But there's a decent period at the end of the English season which I can look at probably - or maybe four weeks in April," he said

"I can't keep waking up every day in agony, and surviving training. The injection should sort that out and if it means missing two Twenty20s in the West Indies when we've got a World Cup in Bangladesh, I'm not too frustrated about that."

After bowling only two overs during the West Indies innings, the first of which cost 19, Broad was visibly limping whilst at the crease, with England already on their way to a comprehensive defeat. As well as two more T20s in Barbados, England have two warm-up matches before they begin their World T20 campaign. Eoin Morgan - who has also been carrying an injury - will captain the side in Broad's absence.

The wear and tear of life as a fast bowler has previously affected Broad's involvement with England. He wears special boots to manage a heel condition, which led to him leaving England's tour of India in 2012, and was forced out of the 2010-11 Ashes tour and the subsequent World Cup by stomach and rib injuries respectively.

In Australia this time around, having lost the Test series 5-0, Broad was given the first two ODIs off in order to rest. Since then he has played in six one-dayers and four T20s, as well as a warm-up match in the Caribbean. His importance to the side is not just as leader; he is also England's most-capped player and leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals.

England's 15-man World T20 squad currently contains Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach and Chris Jordan as the pace-bowling options, as well as the allrounder Ben Stokes. Harry Gurney, the Nottinghamshire left-arm seamer, was selected only for the West Indies tour and could now provide cover for Broad in the event of his condition worsening.

While Bresnan was a member of England's 2010 World T20 win and Dernbach has plenty of international experience, there are few other back-up options for the coach, Ashley Giles. Steven Finn and Boyd Rankin both suffered drastic losses of form in Australia and Chris Woakes has taken just two wickets with an economy of 10.27 in his four T20 internationals. James Anderson, the attack leader in Test cricket, has not played a T20 for England since 2009.

England are already likely to be without Joe Root for the World T20, due to a broken thumb sustained in Antigua, and Broad said that Morgan still was not 100% fit following a knee injury of his own. After a fourth T20 defeat in a row, England's preparations for Bangladesh could also do with some patching up.

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England miss the muscle

The opening T20 did not present new problems for England, just old ones rehashed at other venue. Misjudging selection can be fixed, but the batting needs to find a way of combating spin in the shortest format

Out-thought, out-played and out-gunned, England endured a chastening start to the T20 series against West Indies in Barbados.

It was not just that England were well beaten that will disturb them. It was that they were well beaten largely due to their enduring struggles against spin bowling. Bearing in mind that they will be playing the World T20 on Bangladesh pitches where spin is expected to dominate, then it is hard to be optimistic about their chances.

It would be an exaggeration to suggest that this match was decided before it even began. But not much of an exaggeration. While West Indies' three spinners bowled 10 overs and claimed 6 for 46, England selected four fast-medium bowlers who bowled their 12 overs for 128 without taking a wicket. They picked only one spinner and he was, by some distance, their best bowler. They simply misread the pitch.

But even if England had stacked their side with spinners, even if they had bowlers to compare to the quality of Sunil Narine, they would still have to have batted far better to have given themselves any chance of victory.

As it was, they batted like schoolboys. While Ben Stokes, head in the air and swinging like a punch-drunk boxer, might be forgiven on the grounds of inexperience, Luke Wright, playing his 100th international and becoming the second England player (after Stuart Broad) to reach 50 T20I caps, has no such excuse. He has now failed to reach double-figures in his last eight international innings and, on this tour, his scores have been 1, 0 and 0. That is not a sustainable record for a specialist No. 3 batsman. While Wright might have a future on quicker surfaces in Australia, it is hard to see how he will flourish in Bangladesh.

In the three ODIs in Antigua, England were largely able to see-off the spinners. They were able to accept that Narine would deliver his overs frugally and simply play him out and plunder the weaker bowlers. But here, in the shorter format, they were further burdened by the presence of the top-spin of Samuel Badree and knew they could not afford to simply accumulate for eight overs. Had Narine been able to complete his allocation of overs - he was obliged to leave the pitch after sustaining an injury in the field - then the margin might well have been even larger.

	While the likes of Dwayne Smith and Chris Gayle were able to thrash fairly decent deliveries over the boundary, England are more reliant on bowler error to match such strokes. They have come to a gunfight armed with a catapult

It is far from the first time that England teams have looked clueless against spin bowling. Perhaps due to the largely one-dimensional character of the pitches that dominate in county cricket, or perhaps due to the inflexible attitude that endures towards 'mystery' spin in the UK, young England players react to exposure to bowlers such as Narine with something approaching horror. It has been a long-standing weakness in the English system.

There have been improvements in recent years. But there are few members of the Test squad that triumphed in India in this limited-overs squad, so it appears that, each generation, England have to return to square-one in their struggle against spin. In the longer term, they would be well served allowing more turning pitches in the County Championship and encouraging more unorthodox bowlers to develop their art. At present, the cleft foot of the puritanical action-police continues to hold England back in this regard.

England did not bowl badly. While West Indies recorded their highest T20I score at the venue - only Sri Lanka and Australia have scored more here - it was more of a result of a true pitch almost perfect for this form of the game and a batting line-up blessed with power then it was poor bowling. England simply lacked the slow-bowling options that might have made life more difficult.

Indeed, had James Tredwell accepted a chance - a chance somewhat harshly described by Broad as "a dolly" - offered by Marlon Samuels when he had 43, West Indies might have restricted to something around 150. As it was, Samuels thrashed the final five deliveries in the same Jade Dernbach over to the boundary and West Indies were all but out of reach.

England have little such fire-power in their own batting. While the middle-order of Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Ravi Bopara, must be considered dangerous, their line-up does not compare to the power present in the West Indies' top seven. While the likes of Dwayne Smith and Chris Gayle were able to thrash fairly decent deliveries over the boundary, England are more reliant on bowler error to match such strokes. They have come to a gunfight armed with a catapult and may well have missed a trick by overlooking powerful T20 batsmen such as Darren Stevens and Steven Crook, whose skiddy pace might also have proved especially effective in Bangladesh.

There was even worse news for England at the end of the game. Broad announced that he will not play the final two T20s in order to rest a knee problem that might be described as chronic, while it emerged that Morgan's knee injury is continuing to bother him. The England camp deny it, but both must be considered doubts for the World T20 and Broad, who is having a "fourth or fifth" injection on his troublesome knee, is clearly in need of some time off. Whichever way you look at it, England are facing an uphill struggle in Bangladesh.

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Manuka Oval could host Sheffield Shield final

The Sheffield Shield final may be held at Manuka Oval in Canberra or Gliderol Stadium in Glenelg after both New South Wales and South Australia were forced to find alternatives to their main venues. The last round of matches begins on Tuesday and will determine the finalists, with South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia all equal on 26 points at the top of the table and Queensland also in contention on 22 points.

South Australia had already advised that if they were to host the final it would be held in Glenelg instead of at Adelaide Oval due to a Rolling Stones concert, and New South Wales have also had to come up with another plan. The SCG will be in use for Major League Baseball matches between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Cricket New South Wales has nominated Manuka Oval as its final venue.

The Blues will play Western Australia at Manuka Oval in the final round in a match that will go a long way to determining the make-up of the final, although South Australia's match in Hobart against Tasmania will also be important. Last year's runners-up, Queensland, could also catapult themselves into the decider if they beat Victoria at the MCG.

All three of the top sides will benefit from the return of Test players from the tour of South Africa, with Steven Smith to captain New South Wales, who also gain Nathan Lyon. Shaun Marsh is likely to rejoin the Western Australia outfit, perhaps as a replacement for his brother Mitchell, who suffered a side strain in last week's match.

Phillip Hughes will make his return for South Australia but the Redbacks will be without their captain Johan Botha, who was suspended for one match for a bizarre incident in last week's match against New South Wales. Botha was believed to have called for the new ball during the New South Wales innings and then rubbed the old ball on his boot spikes before throwing it off the ground.

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Thirimanne century could prove career-defining

Sri Lanka's selectors have persisted with Lahiru Thirimanne, and in his 62nd ODI, he underlined his top-order potential again, under the pressure of a chase in a final

When he looks back on his match-winning 101 in the Asia Cup final, the highlights reel in Lahiru Thirimanne's head is unlikely to include the single that took him to 39. The shot Thirimanne played, moreover, was that banal middle-overs staple: the push, with the spin, for a single. That particular single, though, was significant. It nudged Thirimanne's batting average from 29.9761904761905 to 30.

An ODI average of 30 isn't a massive deal, you might think, but it's probably the equivalent of a Test average of 40. In most cases, the difference between averaging 29 and 30 in ODIs - and between 39 and 40 in Tests - is usually the difference between feeling like you still need to prove yourself and feeling secure about your place in the side.

It's slightly different for Sri Lankans, though. Throughout their history as a cricket team, their batsmen have been slow starters in ODIs. It took Sanath Jayasuriya till his 235th match for his average to stabilise itself above 30 - that is, for it to never dip below that mark again.

It took 102 matches for Kumar Sangakkara, 149 for Mahela Jayawardene, 111 for Aravinda de Silva, 155 for Tillakaratne Dilshan and 86 for Arjuna Ranatunga. The quickest of Sri Lanka's top seven ODI run-getters to achieve a stable 30-plus average was Marvan Atapattu, who got there in his 23rd match. He, of course, began his Test career with five ducks in his first six innings.

Sri Lanka's selectors have always given their talented batsmen a long run in the side, believing they have the game and the temperament to eventually come good. Time and again, they've been proved right. Sri Lanka's current set of selectors, chaired by Jayasuriya, have given Thirimanne that sort of run in the side. The Asia Cup final was his 62nd ODI. It was the perfect stage to play what could prove a career-defining innings.

Two things worked in Thirimanne's favour during the first half of his innings. Early on, Pakistan's attentions were mostly fixed on Kusal Perera, who was worrying them no end with his Jayasuriya-esque flicks and jabs, powered by an iron bottom-hand grip. This took some pressure off Thirimanne, and allowed him to remain inconspicuous and play at his own pace.

Saeed Ajmal then came on, bowled a maiden to Kusal, and struck twice in his second over to dismiss Kusal and Sangakkara. His next over, to Mahela Jayawardene, was another maiden. When Misbah-ul-Haq took Ajmal out of the attack, he had bowled four overs, out of which Thirimanne had only faced two balls. The first of those had squirted off his inside-edge for four. Even during the opening game of the tournament, in which Thirimanne had scored a century, Ajmal had been the only Pakistan bowler to trouble him.

None of this, of course, is to knock Thirimanne's achievement. Sri Lanka were under tremendous pressure when they lost their second wicket. They still needed more than 200 to win, and their momentum had stalled to a considerable extent.

Thirimanne began the process of regaining Sri Lanka's momentum in Mohammad Talha's first over. Talha started with a deep backward square leg and a square-ish fine leg. Third ball of the over, Thirimanne bisected them with his pull. Two balls later, when Talha drifted too straight, he sent fine leg running the other way, once again in vain, with a deft flick off his hips.

Those two shots showcased Thirimanne's timing and placement as well as his ability to keep his head about him under pressure and look for scoring opportunities. He has shown those qualities right through the Asia Cup, and given credence to the comparisons that are often drawn between him and Sangakkara. It helps that they share a tall stance and a cover drive on one knee with a full flourish.

	All three of Thirimanne's ODI hundreds have come when he's batted in the top three; in those positions, he averages 49.08 in 14 innings. At No. 4 or lower, he averages 22.80 in 33 innings. Like Sangakkara, whose blossoming coincided with a move up the order - he had spent a lot of the early part of his career at No. 6 or 7 - Thirimanne will probably bat up the order in the long term

In this innings, on a slow pitch and against a group of fast bowlers who didn't pitch it up all that often, Thirimanne didn't get to play the cover drive that much. Instead, he exploited the V behind the wicket, and picked up a couple of boundaries with open-faced steers past the wicketkeeper that brought Ranatunga to mind.

After he had moved into the 70s, Thirimanne picked up a cheeky boundary off Umar Gul with one of these late dabs. Next ball, he blocked solidly, back to the bowler. Gul raised his arm, as bowlers often do, as if to throw the ball at the stumps. Thirimanne said something. Gul, moving closer to the batsman, responded with an observation of his own. Thirimanne, like Ranatunga and Sangakkara, didn't seem to mind a bit of chat.

None of this affected Thirimanne's batting. He flowed on, smoothly, content to stay within the confines imposed by the pitch and the lengths Pakistan bowled. It took until he had moved to 81 for someone to give him a wide half-volley, and he pounced on it gleefully.

The next 15 runs took a while coming, as Jayawardene took centre-stage for a while before he and Ashan Priyanjan fell in quick succession. Thirimanne didn't have too much of the strike in all that while. He had been on 85 off 85 balls at the end of the 33rd over. At the start of the 44th, he was on 99 off 105. When he finally flicked Junaid Khan to reach 100, he leaped and punched the air twice, once with helmet on, once with helmet off.

Thirimanne's century was his third in ODIs. All three of them have come when he's batted in the top three; in those positions, he averages 49.08 in 14 innings. At No. 4 or lower, he averages 22.80 in 33 innings.

Like Sangakkara, whose blossoming coincided with a move up the order - he had spent a lot of the early part of his career at No. 6 or 7 - Thirimanne will probably bat up the order in the long term. In the short term, though, with Dilshan set to return from injury, he gives Sri Lanka a bit of a headache. It isn't one they'll mind too much.

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Misbah bemoans ineffective bowling

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has attributed his team's Asia Cup final defeat to his bowlers' inability to put pressure on Sri Lanka's batsmen. Chasing 261, Sri Lanka, led by a century from Lahiru Thirimanne, cruised to a five-wicket win to take their fifth Asia Cup title.

Only Saeed Ajmal posed a threat to Sri Lanka, as Pakistan looked to defend a hard-earned total. Ajmal took 3 for 26 in 10 overs, but apart from him and to an extent, Mohammad Hafeez, the rest of the attack - Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Talha and Shahid Afridi - were all ineffective.

Misbah had to take Ajmal off after the offspinner had taken two quick wickets in his first spell of four overs. He had given away just ten runs, having delivered two maiden overs as well. The Sri Lankan batsmen opted against attacking Ajmal, prompting Misbah to switch bowlers to try and wrestle a wicket.

"They were just consuming his [Ajmal's] overs, just blocking him," Misbah said. "I thought I would take a chance with someone else, to get the wicket. But I think it was a bad day for all the bowlers. They couldn't really put pressure, and you can't win matches with just one bowler. You need to bowl well as a unit."

Gul and Talha have now had two poor games back-to-back after bowling ordinarily against Bangladesh. Junaid went for 56 in nine overs, only picking up Ashan Priyanjan's wicket very late in the game.

"We sought early breakthroughs which Saeed Ajmal finally provided us. Bowling too requires partnerships but none of the bowlers could build that sort of pressure on the batsmen. I think it became easy for them, and they won the game.

"We didn't bowl wicket to wicket, and build pressure. Sri Lankan bowlers did that. It was a slow wicket so you had to bowl straighter. Our lengths were quite short too. And we gave a lot of width too, which made it easy for them."

But Pakistan's real problem, as the captain recognised, was their start with the bat. Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad and Hafeez all got out in 4.3 overs, leaving the middle- and lower-order far too much to do in a final.

Lasith Malinga was the man responsible for Pakistan having a poor start, picking up a five-wicket haul just as he did in the tournament opener against the same team in Fatullah. Incidentally, Thrimianne too had scored a century in that game.

"Thirimanne played really well and Malinga's first spell was a good one as he swung the ball. He put us under pressure, but we did play some bad shots.

"It was our plan not to give Malinga wickets, but we failed to execute that. He again took five wickets and put us under pressure."

Despite losing the first and last game of the tournament, Pakistan will leave with a happy batting line-up after the wins against India and Bangladesh. They successfully chased 245 and 327 respectively, the latter having broken the record for their biggest chase.

"The team really played well, especially the batting department. Ahmed Shehzad played well. Fawad Alam played two very good innings. Shahid Afridi finished two games. Hafeez and Umar Akmal are in good touch. These are positives. We chased well in two games. Before the World T20s, we are in good shape and are confident."

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'Thirimanne batted with a niggle' - Mathews

After missing most of Sri Lanka's series against Bangladesh with an ankle injury, Lahiru Thirimanne returned to the side ahead of the Asia Cup. After he scored a century in the final to help his team achieve a five-wicket win, Sri Lanka's captain Angelo Mathews said Thirimanne had batted with a "bit of a niggle" in their last two games.

"He [Thirimanne] has been amazing for us," Mathews said. "He got injured, unfortunately, in the last series but he came back for us. He had a little bit of a niggle still, while he was batting, in the last two games, and he was very courageous to come out and play, the way he did.

"[I am] very happy, because you push him up the order, you push him down the order, he's one of those players who never get a chance at one spot. And wherever he gets the opportunity he scores runs for us. And that's a team player for me, and he did amazing for us, and he's a great find for us."

Mathews agreed when asked if Thirimanne was in line to become Kumar Sangakkara's long-term replacement in the Sri Lanka side.

"Yeah, after Sangakkara, Mahela [Jayawardene] retire, Thirimanne, [Dinesh] Chandimal are the ones who are going to take their reins. It is not easy to fill their shoes, but the way they are performing right now, I'm pretty sure they'll take responsibility in the future."

After his century in the final, Thirimanne's average in the top three rose to 49.08 in 14 innings. At No. 4 or lower, he averages 22.80 in 33 innings.

"We've got to see how it goes," Mathews said, when asked if Thirimanne would retain his role as opener in the near future. "He opened the batting because [Tillakaratne] Dilshan got injured in the Bangladesh series. As I said before, he's one of those players, you give him the opportunity, wherever you bat him, he will score runs for us. We still haven't thought about where he's going to bat, but definitely he's been a find for us this tournament."

Lasith Malinga was Sri Lanka's other hero of the day, taking all five wickets that fell during Pakistan's innings. He was returning to the side after sitting out the match against Bangladesh.

"Really happy that he rested against Bangladesh," Mathews said. "It's not easy to play consistently, especially for the fast bowlers [who] especially tire out so much. We don't have a lot of time in between [matches] so it's always useful to manage the fast bowlers, especially their workloads, and we saved him for the final. He got a five-for in the first game against Pakistan, and also another five-for today, so he's been performing tremendously for us and he's been our premier bowler for so many years."

At the toss, Sri Lanka took the unexpected decision of leaving out Ajantha Mendis, who had till then been their highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Mathews said the team had wanted to play an extra fast bowler after looking at the pitch.

"All we talked about was, the wicket is very good, and it played very good as well," Mathews said. "It didn't spin so much, that's why we wanted to play the extra seamer, because the wicket wasn't, it didn't look slow, initially."

Asked why it was Mendis who sat out, Mathews said it had been a hard call, but the team went with Sachithra Senanayake's ability to bowl economically in difficult situations.

"He's been performing for us, brilliantly, Mendis, and all the bowlers played their part in the last game as well, so it was a very tough decision," Mathews said. "Even though Senanayake went wicketless in the last game [against Bangladesh], in his 10 overs he went for 37 runs and he bowled in the first Powerplay and also in the batting Powerplay and also in the last 10 overs, so those are the crucial times you have to stop runs and he's been doing that for us.

"It's just that one game where he went off track today, can't really blame, because bowlers tend to have one off day. He has been a star performer for us, even though he hasn't taken a lot of wickets."

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Collingwood's aggressive outlook on new T20 era

A return to the international scene as a coach has allowed Paul Collingwood to see first hand how the game has developed in the few years since he played

It is one of the ironies of England cricket at present that, in attempting to instil a new confidence and exuberance into the team, the management have decided to dispense with the most confident and exuberant player.

Now is not the time to get into the rights and wrongs of the sacking of Kevin Pietersen. Lines have been drawn; conclusions reached. Further debate is, like a radio phone-in on capital punishment, superfluous. No-one is going to change their mind at this stage.

But what has become apparent over the course of this brief tour is that a new spirit is emerging within this England squad. Without not just Pietersen, but other battle-weary and slightly cynical regular squad members, a sense of enjoyment and wonder has crept back into the set-up. Many of this T20 squad are young men still thrilled with all the travel, all the cricket and all the new experiences. It feels like a fresh start.

That is all well and good. But just how deep that recovery is we may discover over the coming weeks. Ultimately this team's mood will be goverened by its success on the pitch and, after an encouraging start to their new age in Antigua, the competition will become that much harder in Barbados where they face a West Indies team considerably strengthened by the return of Chris Gayle.

In the context of their grim winter and the early stages of the rebuilding job with which they are faced, England's ambitions for the next few weeks should be modest. To win this series and progress to the semi-finals of the World T20 should be considered a considerable success. The more realistic goal is to see improvement: to witness the continued development of players such as Jos Buttler and Alex Hales and see better death bowling. Anyone expecting more has not been watching.

The management of expectations has been a reiterated theme of England briefings of late. When Andy Flower said in Sydney that things may get worse before they got better, this is what he meant. The likes of Ben Stokes and, just below the surface, the Overton twins, are prodigiously talented but they are raw and there will be days they make mistakes. Ashley Giles and co. are at the start of a long-term process.

But, come triumph or disaster, the England management are also keen to encourage within the new team the retention of positivity and exuberance. They do not want safety-first cricket; they do not want a team that plays the averages or seeks respectability. They know that, to win major T20 events, aggression is required.

Certainly that was the message of Paul Collingwood the day before the start of the T20 series against West Indies at the Kensington Oval. Collingwood, captain when England won the World T20 here in 2010, is back at the scene of his greatest victory with the squad as part of a seven-week deal designed to bring new energy not just to the fielding, but also the batting, planning and positivity of the squad.

"When we won the World T20, our philosophy was 'we've never won anything being conservative, so we may as well have a go on the other side of the line'," Collingwood said.

"I'm a big believer in straying on the more aggressive side of the line. Not vocally, or anything like that, but how you play your cricket, with a lot more intent. You'll make mistakes along the way, but hope you come up with more wins than losses."

	I'm a big believer in straying on the more aggressive side of the line. Not vocally, or anything like that, but how you play your cricket, with a lot more intent. You'll make mistakes along the way, but hope you come up with more wins than losses Paul Collingwood on his 'brand' of cricket

Losses are inevitable, though. So part of Collingwood and the other coach's roles is to ensure that, whatever happens over the next few weeks, England continue to play attacking cricket.

"I sensed when I first came in a bit of a lack of confidence from what's happened over the winter," Collingwood said. "But Graham Thorpe has worked fantastically well with the batsmen, giving the guys a simple plan and backing their ability. They bounced back well from being one-down in Antigua and the way that Joe Root and Jos Buttler played was exceptional. Michael Lumb and Moeen Ali can take a lot of confidence from the way they've played, too. It's amazing how quickly things can turn around."

The Barbados pitch, though nowhere near as quick as the surface on which England won the World T20 in 2010, will bear little comparison to those expected in Bangladesh. Spin is expected to play far less a role here than it did in Antigua or will in Bangladesh, with the threat of Gayle, in particular, likely to dissuade England from the early introduction of a spinner.

As a consequence, it is likely that the balance of the England team here will provide no more than a rough pointer to the one expected to play in Bangladesh. So, rather than allowing the likely Bangladesh XI more match practice, England will aim to win these games and hope that the resulting confidence is more beneficial than

"It's going to be difficult to find a strategy that will work here in Barbados and also would work in Bangladesh," Collingwood agreed. "Looking at the pitch here, spin is one of the things that could be hit a long way. Personally I think confidence is a key thing going into a World T20. If you can go in with a few wins under your belt, that is more crucial than going in with a settled team."

Nor will Collingwood be seeking to replicate the formula that proved successful in 2010. He accepts that the T20 game has evolved and, having recently returned from a coaching assignment with Scotland that saw them qualify for the 2015 World Cup, is admirably candid about his own limitations as a player.

"The game has changed a lot in those four years since we won," he said. "You would think it has got the same principles and the same strategies but they wouldn't work in this game. The scores that people are getting these days are a lot higher.

"Back then we went on a nine-game unbeaten run and the top score was 149 against us. That doesn't happen these days. The game has changed massively - for the better - and we have to come up with new strategies to overcome these powerful batsmen. It's no longer a nudge-and-nurdler kind of game.

"A lot of it about power and trying to hit the ball 360 degrees. For the bowlers, it's about execution: you've got to come up with different things, whether it be Jade Dernbach with his slower balls or whatever.

"There is no chance, absolutely no chance, that I would get into this England side. I wouldn't get in the Scotland team now. I told them that.

"The game's moved on at a rapid rate. Guys for Scotland were hitting it 100 metres and Afghanistan lost five new balls in the first six overs of a Twenty20 in Sharjah. They went out of the stadium. I've never hit a ball out of the stadium."

Collingwood insists he has no intention of taking on a more permanent coaching position within the next six months. He is about to enter what is almost certain to be his final season for Durham and, knowing the club has had to cut its squad for financial reasons, is loathe to leave them in the lurch. As he puts it: "Durham are down to the bare bones in terms of personnel, so to lose a captain would be a bit harsh at the last second. I'm determined to play for Durham this summer."

A future in coaching appears assured, though. And while there might be a certain irony in Giles and Collingwood advocating an attacking approach that was the antitheses of their own playing careers, it would surely take a gruesome set of results over the next few weeks to see the former denied the chance to build a new England and the latter appointed as one of his deputies.

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Gayle calls for 'drastic improvement'

West Indies opener Chris Gayle has pronounced himself "99 per cent fit" at the start of the three-match Twenty20 series against England in Barbados and admits that West Indies need to up their game drastically in time for their World T20 title defence in Bangladesh.

"We've had some poor results in the last few games on the limited overs front but both teams are going through some challenging times," Gayle said. "Personally, I'm feeling really great, having rested my glutes.

"I haven't really been doing much in the way of playing, or even watching, cricket to be honest. But as long as my body's feeling fine, I can't wait to get out there. I owe the people some big runs and I think with home support for us, this is the time and place to deliver," he said.

Gayle stressed that following England's 2-1 ODI series win in Antigua, West Indies needed to address their sub-par batting and added that this series was ideally positioned for them to garner some momentum going into Bangladesh.

"It's been rough recently. I think we need to be more steady in the crease but we do have the batting capable of getting big runs and more importantly, the wins. We also have disciplined players like Sunil Narine and Ravi Rampaul to deliver on the bowling end of things."

Alongside Gayle's hitting prowess, the return of Marlon Samuels to the fold will help to offset the loss of Kieron Pollard, which Gayle labelled as "a huge blow to the team". He was nonetheless pleased to see the core of the title-winning unit from 2012 in Sri Lanka back in the mix.

"We have Marlon back but we all know how dangerous 'Polly' can be and it's devastating when you lose a player like that. But, even with as many talented individuals as we have, we have to go out there and play as a team to win. We also have one or two new faces to add a fresh dimension to our side."

Gayle did not escape the obligatory question about Kevin Pietersen's enforced retirement from the England side. He suggested that England were substantially weaker without Pietersen and regarded England's treatment of him as "disrespectful".

"KP is one of the best. Any team would love to have him in their ranks. I think it was disrespectful how he was treated and the way he went out but you never know what happens behind closed doors. I'm glad I won't be facing him on the field. He's a tremendous asset and someday I hope he gets back into the England mix if the door ever re-opens."

He remained adamant that the losses of Pietersen and Root would be detrimental to England's T20 aspirations but his own resolution of his long-standing personal spats with the WICB encouraged his belief that there was a chance Pietersen could make his return someday.

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Afridi, Shehzad among Pakistan's injury concerns

Misbah-ul-Haq expects high-intensity final

Soon after Shahid Afridi had reached his half-century against Bangladesh on Tuesday, Pakistan's physio had run out to the field to attend to him. Struggling to move after that, Afridi was run out. Three days later, he was still walking gingerly when Pakistan trained on the eve of the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka.  

"Shahid Afridi has a grade one hip flexor strain," their manager Zakir Khan said. "Our physio is working on him. He's been given rest and treatment. 

"Hopefully tomorrow, before the start of the match we will know the complete situation about Afridi. He has responded well to the treatment. We are all analysing and assessing his situation. Tomorrow we will take the final decision about Afridi."

Afridi isn't the only Pakistan player with a fitness issue.

"We have little bit of niggles and strains to Ahmed Shehzad who was struggling with his shoulder," Zakir said. "He's also responding well to treatment. He's coming up well. Umar Gul was little bit stiff but he's also coming out of it."

Zakir added that Sharjeel Khan, who had missed the Bangladesh game with a knee injury, was "nearly 98% fit. He batted and fielded at the nets and looked good today."  

From these comments, it seemed as if Sharjeel and Gul would probably be fully fit in time to play the final. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan's captain, didn't provide too many clues to the likelihood of Afridi and Shehzad making it.

"Obviously your main players make a difference to the side," Misbah said. "We are, however, mentally strong. You may have seen [Fawad] Alam played really well in absence of Sharjeel Khan. The confidence level is very high. All the members of the team have been performing well. There is a will to win. We hope to get them in the side but at the same time we're confident that even if they don't play, we have the boys in the bench who are capable and confident to win the game for us."

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