GEORGE DOBELL IN BRISBANE: While standing on the precipice of elimination, the 50-over world champions are also four wins away from adding the T20I crown to their trophy cabinet
Paul Collingwood has urged England to embrace the moment and commit to playing fearless cricket in their decisive T20 World Cup match against New Zealand.
England go into the game knowing that nothing less than victory will suffice. And against a New Zealand side which have put together some impressive performances, that is no small task.
But the way Collingwood looks at it, if England win four games in succession, they will become the first side to hold both the T20 and 50-over World Cups at the same time. And that, he believes, should be viewed as an exciting opportunity rather than a daunting crossroads.
"The guys know there's an opportunity here," Collingwood said after England completed training at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. "If they win the next four games, they win a World Cup. And there's not many people in the world who can say that. It's cutthroat. But this is the exciting part. This is why we play the game.
"The power we have in our batting has always been something that a lot of teams have feared. So we have to make sure that the guys are in a mental frame of mind to use that.
New Zealand are top of Group 1 with two wins and a no result from their three games (DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images)
"It's now about freeing the mind and going out there, believing in yourself and putting in the performance. We're not a team 'going to be conservative. We need to keep applying pressure at all times and that's when we play our best cricket."
England didn't look especially aggressive with the bat in either Perth or Melbourne. But in both games and Melbourne especially, there was more assistance than might have been anticipated for the seamers. As a result, England's batters have struggled to show much fluency.
But they hope the surface at the Gabba will be fast and true and encourage the stroke play with which most of them made their names.
"There have been a couple of wickets which have been difficult to find any kind of rhythm on," Collingwood said. "I don't think the conditions have been easy. We've obviously seen a fair bit of movement on the ball, especially the game against Ireland. So sometimes you want to come up on a pitch just like Brisbane, which has nice pace and bounce. Hopefully, it's a nice evening where the ball doesn't do too much. And the boys can get themselves going."
David Willey (left) and Tymal Mills (centre) are pushing for recalls (Paul Kane/Getty Images)
The weather is also a worry, with rain forecast for Brisbane on Tuesday (November 1). It is expected to have cleared by the time England's match starts in the evening, though Afghanistan, who are involved in the earlier fixture, face the real prospect of seeing a third washout in succession.
The England camp report that everyone is fit and available for selection. But Ben Stokes didn't appear in the nets on either Sunday or Monday. Somewhat ominously, when he did arrive at training on Monday, he took a couple of laps of the outfield with the team doctor and then returned to the pavilion.
It may well be that his absence was precautionary. The nets at Allan Border Field were lively with some uneven bounce doing little for the batters' confidence. On Monday (October 31), the seamers tended to bowl to an empty net while the batters trained against throw-downs. Australia trained in the same nets on Sunday and saw a couple of their players take blows to the hand.
Ben Stokes remains a fitness concern for England (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
England are expected to retain the same team which lost to Ireland but it is not certain. Chris Woakes clearly endured a disappointing match in Melbourne but has quite a lot of credit in the bank. David Willey could replace him, but Woakes is likely to be given a chance to deprive himself.
There is also the possibility another seamer could be brought in, probably at the expense of a batter. At present, England can offer a maximum of 16 overs of seam, which includes a four-over allocation from Ben Stokes. Tymal Mills is bowling nicely in training and, if there is any pitch in this tournament which would suit him, it is the Gabba which traditionally offers pace and bounce. Harry Brook would be the most likely to miss out.
It would be quite the game in which to make a comeback for Mills. But while he hasn't played since August, his left-arm angle, his pace and his excellent slower ball may provide the variation England require in the field. It would be a bold selection but, to listen to Collingwood, now is the time for such bravery.
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