Collingwood full of early optimism
England's Twenty20 captain raring to go as South African tour gets under way
Almost all tours begin the same way. They have the freshness and optimism of the first day of spring. The players, whether they have had a week off or six months (some hope of that), are bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, ready to resume their love affair with cricket.
Perhaps there has been the odd exception, when duffings-up have awaited in the Caribbean or Australia, but even then the tourists have generally been as excited as boy scouts going to camp. Filled with pitfalls though it is, this excursion to South Africa which begins officially today with a warm-up 50-over match against Diamond Eagles is no different. The feeling is enhanced because England sense they are starting this one-day section of the tour with a clean slate.
The Twenty20 captain, Paul Collingwood, himself sounding as though as though he could sleep with his bat after a mere three weeks' rest from the game, said as much yesterday. England have picked an audacious limited-overs squad to play audacious limited-overs cricket.
