Patchy Vaughan hopes to regain form by AFP

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Event:

ICC World Cup 2006/07

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DateLine: 31st March 2007

 

England captain Michael Vaughan has conceded he will have to work hard to regain his form ahead of the remaining World Cup Super Eights matches.

 

Vaughan has been opening the innings in the Caribbean, but is still without a half-century in four matches -- three in the group and one in the second round.

 

"My form at the moment is pretty patchy," said the England skipper, who contributed just six in his team's 48-run victory over Ireland here on Friday.

 

"I have to work hard in the next few days and make sure I go into the next game against Sri Lanka full of confidence."

 

Ireland may have lost the match but they earned respect with their good performance, with Vaughan saying they deserved a lot of credit.

 

"It was a sort of banana-skin game. We needed two points and Ireland were playing without fear. They have improved tremendously in the last few years and they deserve a lot of credit," said Vaughan.

 

Ireland put England under pressure in the initial overs when they reduced their opponents to 23-2 before losing their way in the last 10 overs, which yielded 94 runs.

 

"We are happy to get two points, but obviously we need to improve," said Vaughan, who side scored 266-7 before restricting Ireland to 218.

 

"We played some good cricket to get to 260 and then bowled well in the middle period. For the five-six overs we lost track, but pulled it back. We always felt we could score 250 or 260."

 

The England captain was all praise for all-rounder Paul Collingwood, who was named man of the match for his impressive 90 off just 82 balls.

 

"They came out and bowled well on a wicket that helped them early on, but was also good for batting," said Vaughan.

 

"Collingwood has continued his great form. Andrew Flintoff came in with runs and the tail wagged to get us to a decent total."

 

Vaughan hoped the top-order batsmen would also score big in the remaining games against Sri Lanka, defending champions Australia, the West Indies, Bangladesh and South Africa.

 

"We'd love the top order to fire, but it hasn't happened today. We'll have to work very hard over the next few days to make sure that it contributes in the next game against Sri Lanka," he said.

 

Collingwood said he was not surprised by Ireland's early successes on a pitch which had a little bit of moisture.

 

"They were very impressive. I wasn't surprised when they came out and bowled and put us under pressure," he said.

 

"It takes a little bit of time to get in on these wickets. You have to get yourself in and then later in the innings you can make up on the run-rate a little bit."

 

England were indebted to Collingwood for posting a challenging total as the all-rounder put on 81 for the fifth wicket with Flintoff.

 

"We had to put partnerships together through the middle of the innings. And then in the back end of the innings, we got a hold of the bowlers a little bit. It was nice to get runs and hopefully that will continue."

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)