September 02, 2007	Sunday	Sha'aban 19, 1428

LEEDS, Sept 1: England captain Paul Collingwood is confident of his team’s chances against Australia in the Twenty20 World Championship.

England have been grouped with Australia and Zimbabwe in the first round of the tournament beginning on Sept 11.

“It’s always a game (England v Australia) that everybody looks forward to playing and watching as well,” Collingwood told sportinglife.com.

“From a player’s point of view, it’s great to play against the best sides and we’ll all be looking forward to playing against Australia.”

The two sides will first meet on Sept 14.

Australia have played only five Twenty20 internationals but Collingwood said their lack of experience would not give them a disadvantage.

England have played Australia twice, and beat them comprehensively in Southampton 2005 but lost at Sydney in 2006-07.

“Most sides will be going in pretty equal – they (Australia) have obviously got a lot of skills and power so they’re going to be a massive threat.

“I’m sure they’ll come up with plans of how they’re going to attack the Twenty20 format – it’ll be interesting to see. We’ll go in with our own ideas and see who comes out on top.”

Swift thinking, according to Collingwood, will play a vital part in the Twenty20 format and he said he was up to the challenge as skipper.

“I think you have to be very well prepared as captain, certainly on field placings, where you’re going to bowl, have a Plan B and sometimes even a Plan C.

“As I noted against the West Indies a few weeks back you can have a Plan B and it’s amazing how quickly the batsmen get a hold of the Plan B! It is hectic, a bit mind-boggling at times.”—Agencies