Warnie rates England's timing

By Toby Forage

FOXSPORTS.com.au editor

February 14, 2007 SHANE Warne believes England is peaking at just the right time and could be a dark horse to take the World Cup off Australia's hands in the Caribbean.

The former Australia leg-spin great said England's results were no fluke, and while it started poorly in the series, it put in its best performances "when it mattered most".

Writing for The Times in London, Warne also suggested England's tri-series hero Paul Collingwood could be the player of the tournament, which starts on March 13.

Warne, who won the World Cup with Australia in 1999 but missed the 2003 triumph through suspension, said Collingwood's ability to bat in all sorts of situations was a massive boost for England.

"He could be the player of the World Cup. He will go to the Caribbean full of confidence and because of his versatility will always be in games," Warne said.

"He has made himself into an effective batsman who knows how to play situations. His bowling is a handy option and his fielding is top-drawer.

"Every one-day team needs a bloke like Collingwood. This is his game."

Conversely, the suspect fitness of Andrew Symonds heading into the World Cup remains a concern for Warne, who wrote his column prior to the Queensland all rounder being selected in Australia's 15-man squad.

Warne also put a question mark over the selections of Brad Hogg and Shane Watson in the Australia ranks.

"The problem this time was that Brad Hogg and Shane Watson did not have much rhythm of playing cricket behind them," he said.

"Those positions at No.7 and No.8 are crucial."

England will name its squad overnight tonight, with Collingwood a certainty in its party.

England has never won a World Cup, but was beaten in the 1992 final by Pakistan by the margin of 22 runs and thrashed in the 1979 final by 92 runs against this year's host, West Indies.

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LONDON, England -- Inexperienced all-rounder Ravi Bopara was the surprise inclusion when England's 15-man World Cup squad was unveiled on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Essex player has only one one-day international appearance behind him from the recent tri-series in Australia -- when he scored seven not out and took one wicket -- but edged out batsman Mal Loye in the squad.

Chairman of selectors David Graveney said: "We have included Ravi Bopara because we believe he is a multi-dimensional cricketer whose all-round talents will help give the squad a better balance."

Graveney unveiled the squad at The Oval in London, adding that he hoped captain Michael Vaughan would be fit to lead the team in the tournament in the West Indies after missing much of the recent tri-series in Australia which England won.

"This is a youthful squad with a number of highly promising players who made an excellent impression in Australia. The challenge facing the team now is to build on those performances Down Under and peak at the right time in the Caribbean," Graveney said.

"The selectors were delighted with the team's outstanding performance in winning the Commonwealth Bank Series (tri-series) and we have retained the bulk of the squad who were in Australia for the World Cup.

"Michael Vaughan, James Anderson and Jon Lewis are all still recovering from injuries at present and have been named in the squad subject to a further re-assessment prior to our departure for the Caribbean.

"They will continue to undergo intensive treatment over the next fortnight and the medical staff will be giving the selectors regular updates on their progress. Kevin Pietersen, however, is now fully recovered from his rib injury and will be keen to make an impact in his first World Cup."
No gamble

Graveney denied that the inclusion of Vaughan was a gamble after he was ruled out of the tri-series final with Australia with hamstring problems.

"A number of other countries have done the same thing because of the timescale of the squad announcement," he said.

"My wish is that when we get to St Vincent, Michael Vaughan will be fit to captain England."

Asked what England's chances were in a tournament where they have struggled to mount a serious challenge for 15 years, Graveney said: "Well, two weeks ago we were told England needn't bother turning up while now I'm hearing we've been made second favorites -- it probably sits somewhere between the two.

"We've shown we can beat the very best with our (tri-series) wins over Australia and New Zealand but we've also shown we can have performances like Adelaide (when England were bowled out for 110 and lost by nine wickets to Australia)."

England, who have reached three World Cup finals and lost them all including their last appearance in one in 1992, are scheduled to leave for the Caribbean on March 2 and play their first warm-up match against Bermuda in St Vincent on March 5.

Their first match in the tournament's group stage is against New Zealand in St Lucia on March 16. They also face Kenya and Canada in Group C.
Khan stars

India's left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan claimed his first five-wicket haul in one-day internationals to help defeat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the third match of their series on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old ripped through the top order to restrict the visitors to 230 for eight after they had won the toss and elected to bat.

India skipper Rahul Dravid became the sixth batsman to score 10,000 one-day runs as he notched up his 77th fifty to guide his team past the target and level the series 1-1. The hosts made 233 for five in 46.3 overs.

Zaheer dismissed openers Sanath Jayasuriya (two), Upul Tharanga (one) and the in-form Kumar Sangakkara for a duck, before claiming the wickets of Farveez Maharoof (14) and Malinga Bandara (two) to finish with five for 42.

However, a defiant half century by left-hander Russel Arnold (66 not out) helped Sri Lanka pass the 200-mark after skipper Mahela Jayawardene (30) and Marvan Atapattu (42) had steadied the innings with a fourth-wicket stand of 76.

Dravid made 66 with four fours and a six and shared in an entertaining 133-run stand off 139 balls for the fifth wicket with the big-hitting Mahendra Dhoni, who cracked an undefeated 67 to help the home side recover from 94-4.

The skipper was run out with four runs remaining for victory when Dhoni's straight drive hit leg-spinner Malinga Bandara's hands and crashed onto the stumps.

The final match will be played in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. The opening contest in Kolkata was abandoned due to rain while the visitors won the second match at Rajkot by five runs.

Reuters