Collingwood backs batsmen

Down but not out - Paul Collingwood is in confident mood ahead of Wednesday

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Paul Collingwood has thrown his support behind the England top six on the eve of the fourth NatWest one-day international at the Brit Oval.

Chasing 182 for victory at Bristol three days ago, England’s hopes of leaving the West Country with a 2-0 series lead evaporated when they slumped to 64 for six as Tim Southee and Kyle Mills wreaked havoc.

Despite battling innings from the captain and Graeme Swann, England eventually lost by 22 runs to allow New Zealand to square the series.

It was a far cry from the first match of the series at the Riverside when England piled on 307 for five and won handsomely.

“The one-day at Durham was pretty much our perfect one-day game,” said Collingwood.

“The way we went about setting a target, building an innings, partnerships – everything about that was nigh-on perfect.

"We have match-winners in the top-six, people who can nudge it around. Certainly that top-six can be a formidable unit.”

The highs of Durham to the lows of Bristol will have left Collingwood scratching his head.

Consistent inconsistency is something the skipper knows he must eradicate from his side.

Collingwood's own return to form has been heartening

“It would be great if we can do that every single game but you come up against different conditions, that’s cricket,” he said.

“You have to adapt, that’s where we are learning as a team, to learn new skills on what you need for certain conditions. We are not 100 per cent there yet but when we are on-song we are on-song.

“When you go to places like Sri Lanka and be successful out there it proves we can adapt to different conditions. The boys are progressing their skills in one-day cricket.

"I think we have made strides but you have got to win as well. If you don’t win there are question marks.

“We have proven when we play well we can beat anybody on our day. We have the talent in the side, it goes back to consistency.”

A series win against New Zealand, ranked third in the one-day rankings, would go some way to dispelling the notion that England cannot string together a batch of decent performances.

However, a knee injury to Ian Bell sustained in a session of touch rugby on Tuesday morning won’t help.

“I thought he’d been a bit of a Drogba,” joked Collingwood after seeing his team-mate tumble on the turf, but Ryan Sidebottom completed a full session and Alastair Cook is on the verge of a return.

“The way the boys trained today and the atmosphere around the camp, we are still very confident. There is a big buzz about the side. We have two finals coming up.”