PAUL COLLINGWOOD has underlined the desire within the England ranks to deliver another emphatic display against West Indies and ensure their participation in the Ashes later this summer.
The two-match series against West Indies is still to capture the public’s imagination, with the ease in which England secured their 10-wicket triumph at Lord’s contributing to only 3,000 tickets being sold for tomorrow’s opening day of the second npower Test at Chester-le-Street.
If England avoid defeat, they will regain the Wisden Trophy following their surprise series loss in the Caribbean during the winter and continue their momentum since slipping to defeat in the opening Test in Jamaica last February.
That will provide motivation enough for England’s line-up but it is the prospect of taking part in the far bigger challenges ahead this summer – most notably the Ashes – that is spurring them on in their final Test appear-ance before facing Australia in Cardiff on July 8.
"It’s been a difficult winter with certain issues that have gone on but I think the way we bounced back – certainly from the Jamaica Test – I don’t think you could have asked the side to do it any better," said Durham all- rounder Collingwood.
"The way you go about trying to win Test matches, we really have nailed that from that day and hopefully you’ll win more than you lose having that kind of formula.
"There’s been a real progression, the players feel that and we realise this is the last Test match before the Ashes.
"We can’t get away from the fact that it is and we want to put a big performance in and win this trophy back – it hurt us when we got beaten by the West Indies out there and we want to get it back."
The Ashes, and all discussion about it, has been notably absent from England’s public statements in the build-up to both these West Indies Tests, with new coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss preferring to keep their own counsel on the matter.
But Collingwood is confident another emphatic performance at the Riverside will cement players in the selectors’ thinking for the start of the Ashes at the very least before they switch to the one-day series and ICC World Twenty20 tournament.
