Colly wants positive response

Paul Collingwood speaks to the media ahead of flying off to New Zealand © Getty Images

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Paul Collingwood has backed England's one-day squad to travel to New Zealand and prove to Nasser Hussain they are not "soft" cricketers.

Former England skipper Hussain believes some players have been in a comfort zone since winning the Ashes in 2005 and they need to be mentally stronger if there is any chance of winning them back next year.

The first chance for them to answer Hussain is against the Kiwis, starting with the one-day series next month.

"He's entitled to his opinion," said one-day skipper Collingwood. "We don't believe we are soft. We were disappointed with how we played in Sri Lanka this winter but it wasn't because we are soft. Hopefully we can go out there and prove it.

"Sometimes when you get an opinion like that you see a positive reaction. Hopefully all the players go out there and perform well and show how tough we are.

"Realistically people will be aware of what is said. When you are criticised it does hurt and you can have a positive reaction."

Collingwood leads his side through the airport doors as they prepare for the series

Despite England disappointing in the Sri Lanka Tests this winter, Collingwood has enjoyed a positive run as one-day skipper and winning in New Zealand would mean a hat-trick of series wins.

It has been seen as a step in the right direction after a disappointing World Cup, and it has also enhanced Collingwood's captaincy credentials.

"Hopefully we're putting that on the right track now and we can string these tour wins together and win over a period of time," said Collingwood.

"We've been a dangerous side in the past but it comes down to consistency. That's what we're looking for now - to get a consistent side together and know our games, roles and go out and perform with the right approach.

"Hopefully we're starting to get the right formula."

England's new chief selector Geoff Miller had revealed he would prefer one captain for both forms of the game, rather than Collingwood and Michael Vaughan sharing.

"He said in an 'ideal world' and it's not an ideal world at the moment," said Collingwood.

"From the start I've always said that Vaughany and I have a good relationship. We realise that this can work well and as long as we are trying to take both teams and English cricket in the right direction, it can work. It's as simple as that.

Collingwood took England to one-day series victory against Sri Lanka © Getty Images

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"Of course I've developed, it comes down to experience. Obviously I didn't have much experience coming into the captaincy and the more you play and captain, you get better ideas of how to go about things.

"I'm learning all the time and enjoying it. It's obviously better when you are winning. The last two series have been a nice feeling but we realise we have so far to go - our real aim is to win a trophy which we haven't done before.

"Hopefully this is a stepping stone to win series and build confidence up over time."

While Collingwood's focus is on continuing the recent success of the one-day side, he stopped short of describing the New Zealand series as the "time to deliver" as David Graveney did before Miller took over, effectively as his replacement.

"We're trying to develop the side over a period of time," said Collingwood. "We're going out there and we want to win - and we believe we can win.

"As long as the players are improving and we are improving our approach and getting a winning formula, it's not the be all and end all. But we are going out there expecting to win.

"We don't go out there and put pressure on ourselves to say 'if we don't win it is the end of English cricket'. We go out there and believe in ourselves and we believe we can win.

"Of course it is an important tour for us. We were disappointed with the end of the Sri Lanka tour and the way we played - and we've got to put things right.

"That shows character, pride and all the words you use in a team environment that you need to perform and win. We believe we can do that."