England keep options open

Collingwood: bowling options

A lot of teams will be using the spinners inside that first six overs - which sounds mad, with only two (fielders) outside the circle, but it's a good opportunity to take wickets.

Paul Collingwood
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Skipper Paul Collingwood is confident he has all the weapons he needs ahead of England's World Twenty20 opener against West Indies.

England's fluid plans mean they can deploy any of their bowlers at any time - including the spin of Graeme Swann with the new ball.

There is no direct suggestion that Swann, or slow left-armer Michael Yardy, is likely to open up against the West Indies in England's first Group D match at the Guyana National Stadium on Monday.

But they clearly believe that in those two spinners, four frontline seamers and a batting order boasting power hitting and precision placement, they have a team for all occasions.

"Depending on who you're playing against, you've maybe got to be versatile enough to start off with Swanny," said Collingwood.

"It's definitely something we've spoken about, and the guys have been practising with the new ball.

"A lot of teams will be using the spinners inside that first six overs - which sounds mad, with only two (fielders) outside the circle, but it's a good opportunity to take wickets."

Swann or Yardy with the new ball is more of a contingency than Plan A.

"That middle period [often of spin] is obviously a key factor too, and one of our strengths is our three-pronged seam attack," added Collingwood.

"That warm-up game against South Africa (in Barbados last week) was pretty much 100 per cent in terms of the plans we came up with and executed."

Of England's seamers - James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Ryan Sidebottom shared most of the warm-up workload - it seems the last-named has impressed most of late.

Different angle

"'Sidey' has done exceptionally well," said the captain.

"Having a left-armer and a different angle is another crucial thing. It's hard for the right-handed batsmen to get away at the death.

"'Sidey' has been brilliant with his yorkers, and the other day he was exceptional at the front against Graeme Smith. He has a really good chance of playing."

Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter have yet to click as England's new opening partnership.

But Collingwood said: "They can hit a ball seriously hard; they can put opposition bowlers under a lot of pressure. I don't see it as a massive gamble.

"Kieswetter has shown a lot of potential in the one-dayers, and I see him as a player who is going to play for many years.

"Lumby played a great game [for England Lions against England] in Abu Dhabi.

"I think it opened all of our eyes, and that was the kind of player we really wanted up the top of the order - and to have a right-hand, left-hand combination up there is another crucial thing."