Skipper looks to Lord's

Collingwood sees bright future as India series goes to wire

Last updated: 6th September 2007

paul collingwood

Collingwood: Lord's target

From a captain's point of view, when you see a team fighting like that it's a great thing for the future for us.

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England captain Paul Collingwood can envisage great things for the future as the NatWest Series goes down to the wire at Lord's.

England fought hard before going down by two wickets to India in a run-heavy contest at The Oval.

With the sides now tied at 3-3, the seventh match of the campaign at Lord's on Saturday has effectively become a decider.

England rallied from a position of 137-5 to post 316, thanks largely to Owais Shah, debutant Luke Wright and Dimitri Mascarenhas, who hit five consecutive sixes to finish the innings, and then again after India raced to 150 without loss.

"From a captain's point of view, when you see a team fighting like that it's a great thing for the future for us," Collingwood said.

"We need to keep our heads held high, because we know we've done a lot of good things, and regroup for Saturday. It's a massive game, a big final for us."

Mascarenhas became only the fourth batsman in one-day international history, after Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi and Sanath Jayasuriya to hit 30 in a legitimate six-ball over.

Confidence

Having scuffed the first delivery from left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh to mid-on, he began a spree of sixes which began when Piyush Chawla caught him at deep midwicket but fell on the rope.

"I saw him catch it and just thought 'Touch the rope, touch the rope'. Sometimes you need a bit of luck," said Mascarenhas.

"Once you've done it once you get a bit more confidence and think you can do it again and again.

"They just hit the middle of the bat and he probably bowled them in the right areas for me, to be honest.

"Five is definitely the most I have hit in one over."

With Ravi Bopara already ruled out of the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa and uncertainty remaining over Flintoff's fitness, Mascarenhas could get a late call for Sunday's flight to Johannesburg.

"They have said there is a chance, that's all I know so far and I don't think I have done myself too much harm at the moment," he said.