Collingwood excited by Capricorn Commanders squad

Former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood, who is the captain of the Capricorn Commanders in the Masters Champions League (MCL), has expressed his excitement about the quality of players in his side.

The Capricorn Commanders side consists of players like Abdul Razzaq, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Symonds, Ben Laughlin, Geraint Jones and Ryan McLaren among others.

Collingwood feels that the athleticism of his squad members will be a crucial factor for his team and also added that they have a good bowling attack.

“I’m very excited to be honest, with the combination," he said.

“I think what Michael Vaughan has chosen in the auction are a group of players who seem to be very athletic.

“I know this is a Masters competition but what we do have in the squad is a team that has a lot of current players and so hopefully the athleticism gives us a bit of an edge.

“One thing in Twenty20 that I do believe in is, bowlers are the key.

“If you can keep the runs down, then you win a lot of games.

“I think we do have a very good bowling combination.” 

There are players from eight countries in the Capricorn Commanders squad but Collingwood is very confident that the players will gel as a group very quickly as their common ambition is to win the tournament.

“To be honest with you, it is not too difficult at all.

“These guys are experienced competitors and are used to travelling around the world and adapting to different conditions.

“I think the one thing that is really exciting is that we have done a lot of battles in the park in the past but once you get into the same team, same environment, it is amazing how quickly you can gel.

“And another exciting thing is you make new friends, guys that you have never played with.

“Another exciting part I find is different cultures in your team, different personnel but you have all got the same aim and ambition to go out there and win.

“And we want to go out there and win."

In the Capricorn Commanders side, players like Chamara Silva, Ryan McLaren, Ben Laughlin, Jeetan Patel and Rory Kleinveldt are active in domestic cricket.

Collingwood, who led England to their only World Twenty20 title in 2010 stated that the presence of so many recent players in the squad will definitely give them an edge over the opposition.

“I think we are quite lucky in terms of the personnel that we have in our team.

“We seem to be quite an athletic team and I think that is going to be a crucial part of this tournament.

“Fielding standards, running between the wickets, all these kind of things is going to be quite crucial.

“So, we do seem to have a squad that is athletic and is physically quite fit and players that have played currently.

“So that could give us an edge.” 

The Capricorn Commanders begin their MCL campaign with the match against Leo Lions on the 29th January in Dubai.  

© Cricket World 2016