Dubai: Former England skipper Paul Collingwood, who will captain Capricorn Commanders in the Masters Champions League (MCL), believes that cricket is 90 per cent mental and 10 per cent technique.
Answering a query from Gulf News on what he would be expecting from his team, the Twenty20 World Cup winning captain said: “I have told the guys already that confidence is key. I always think cricket is 90 per cent mental and 10 per cent technique and that is the case in Twenty20 cricket. I will try and drive confidence into the guys as quickly as possible and so believing in yourselves and your skills and going there and committing is vital. So that is going to be a big part of our strategy, trying to get the mental side and confidence right and go there and entertain and perform. We are here for entertainment purpose and can have lot of fun along the way and hopefully win some games.”
Collingwood is delighted with his team combination for the inaugural event. “The team that Michael Vaughan (Director of the team) has chosen in the auction is a group of players who are very athletic. I know this is a Masters competition but what we do have in the squad is a team comprising mostly of current players and hopefully the athleticism gives us an edge. In Twenty20, I believe it’s important to keep the runs down and then you can win a lot of games. I think we have a very good bowling combination and along with that the athleticism in the field, which can cause some problems.”
Collingwood was here recently as the batting and fielding coach of the England team that played Pakistan in UAE. Asked what could be the winning mantra in the UAE, Coillingwood said: “We need to adapt to the conditions as quickly as possible in a competition in which you have only five games in the group stages. You’ve got to hit the ground running from day one, certainly the training is going to be crucial. We have to play according to the wicket and you have got to make sure that when the ball is in your area, it’s there to be hit. There are tactical things you can do in these conditions like anything else in cricket you play to your strength and that is the crucial thing.”
Will Collingwood the captain be a taskmaster? “People who know me will understand me. I do like to have a relaxed environment in the dressing room. We have a group of guys who have played fantastic cricket in their career and to get them together to play in a great country and great stadia here is exciting times for our life and a new challenge.”
