Last updated: 10th September 2007
Moores: Upbeat
Peter Moores insists England are not going to South Africa to make up the numbers at the ICC World Twenty20.
The squad flew out on Sunday off the back of clinching the NatWest Series against India with a seven-wicket win at Lord's the previous day.
Moores hopes the fact that England have been playing tough matches right before a major tournament will work in their favour, as well as the addition of Twenty20 expertise from the likes of Darren Maddy and Jeremy Snape.
"It would be crazy to go into any tournament not believing you can win," he said.
"We have a lot of players who have played a lot of Twenty20 cricket and been successful domestically.
"But we have had a different build-up to everyone else, so hopefully these seven pressurised games between evenly-matched sides will hold the squad's competitive edge."
Paul Collingwood will be hoping he can improve even further on his 50 per cent win ratio as England captain.
The Durham batsman has grown in the role since taking over from Michael Vaughan following the team's dismal showing at the World Cup.
Moores has certainly been impressed with his one-day leader and feels his 64 not out on Saturday shows he can cope with the extra pressure that captaincy brings.
"He should look back on it and be very proud how he has developed as a captain," said the England coach.
"The last three or four games we have played have been very tight and he has batted and bowled very well, which shows he can deliver his own skill and still be captain.
"Tactically he has shown he is very able, the way he has mixed bowlers, been inventive at times and stayed calm under pressure.
"He is learning very quickly about the options he has got and improving all the time."
England kick-off their Twenty20 campaign against Zimbabwe on Thursday before facing Australia the following day. Both matches are in Cape Town.
| Fixture |
|---|
| Saturday 11th October |
| 1 Day Intl Series |
| Bangladesh vs New Zealand |
| Test Match Series |
| India vs Australia |
| International Quadrangular Series |
| Canada vs Zimbabwe |
| Sri Lanka vs Pakistan |
| Sunday 12th October |
| International Quadrangular Series |
| Pakistan vs Zimbabwe |
| Canada vs Sri Lanka |
| Monday 13th October |
| International Quadrangular Series |
| TBC vs TBC |
| TBC vs TBC |
| Tuesday 14th October |
| 1 Day Intl Series |
| Bangladesh vs New Zealand |
| Friday 17th October |
| Test Match Series |
| India vs Australia |
| Result |
|---|
| Friday 10th October |
| International Quadrangular Series |
| Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets. |
| Canada vs Pakistan Pakistan won by 35 runs. |
| Thursday 9th October |
| 1 Day Intl Series |
| Bangladesh vs New Zealand Bangladesh won by 7 wickets. |
| Wednesday 24th September |
| County Championship - Division One |
| Somerset vs Lancashire Lancashire won by 8 wickets. |
| Sussex vs Yorkshire Match Drawn |
| Kent vs Durham Durham won by an innings and 71 runs. |
| Nottinghamshire vs Hampshire Hampshire won by 203 runs. |
| County Championship - Division Two |
| Gloucestershire vs Essex Match Drawn |
| Northamptonshire vs Middlesex Middlesex won by 93 runs. |
| Leicestershire vs Derbyshire Leicestershire won by 8 wickets. |
In his latest blog for skysports.com Dave Fulton pays tribute to spin king Mushtaq Ahmed.
After a rain-out in Cardiff, a lull in the schedule means there is no change in our Sixes League.
Sanath Jarasuriya is the only major mover in our Sixes League after a rain-soddened week of cricket.
India closed day two of the first Test in Bangalore on 68-0 after Michael Hussey's 146 had helped Australia post a total of 430.
Pakistan beat Canada and Sri Lanka saw off Zimbabwe on the opening day of the quadrangular Twenty20 tournament in Toronto.
Australia's Michael Hussey admitted scoring his first Test hundred on Indian soil was "particularly special".
Ryan McLaren has withdrawn from the South African ODI squad due to a contractual dispute with Kent.
Sri Lanka's tour of England may now be cancelled because of their players' involvement in the Indian Premier League.