Collingwood promises 'attacking' England

ONDON, June 22, 2007 (AFP) - Paul Collingwood, named Friday as England's one-day captain, said he wanted a new-look squad to "attack the opposition" during the upcoming series against the West Indies.

The Durham all-rounder replaced Michael Vaughan, who has opted to concentrate on his role at the helm of the Test team.

Both Vaughan and Test opener Andrew Strauss were left out of the squad that will face the West Indies in two Twenty20 and three one-day internationals starting next week.

Collingwood, 31, had been widely expected to get the role after England's leading one-day batsman Kevin Pietersen - the only other fit contender guaranteed a place in the side - said he did not feel ready for the responsibility of captaincy.

"We have played our best one-day cricket when we have been aggressive and tried to take the attack to the opposition," Collingwood told a news conference Friday at his Riverside home ground, broadcast by Sky Sports.

"I'm not talking about going out there from ball one and trying to whack the ball all over the place," added Collingwood who scored hundreds during England's shock triangular one-day series victory in Australia in February.

"Hopefully we will approach it a bit more positively than in the past."

Strauss led England last year when Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff were both injured but a recent lack of form dampened his chances.

Meanwhile leading all-rounder Flintoff is currently recovering from an ankle operation having been stripped of the vice-captaincy at the World Cup following a late night drinking session that culminated with him being found in a pedalo in the early hours of the morning.

David Graveney, chairman of the England selectors, said of Collingwood: "He has been a key member of the one-day team for a while and we believe he is ready to take on the additional responsibility of captaincy."

Collingwood, who has little experience at county level of being captain, said: "I have got more than 100 caps experience in the one-day game and hopefully that will put me in good stead for what is going to come ahead."

Neither Flintoff, Sajid Mahmood (hernia) or Ravi Bopara (thigh) were fit enough for consideration.

And a further five players from the World Cup squad have been overlooked - Vaughan, Strauss, Jamie Dalrymple, Paul Nixon and Jon Lewis.

Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas -- who was brought up in Australia -- and Warwickshire's South African-born batsman Jonathan Trott earn their first international call-ups as part of a 14-man squad.

"Jonathan will give us options in the top three of the order," said Graveney. "Similarly, Dimitri Mascarenhas enjoys an excellent record in the shorter form of the game, has shown that he can take wickets on different types of surfaces and is also an effective hitter in the lower order."

England have yet to win the World Cup, the last of their three losing appearances in the final coming in 1992, and failed to reach the semi-finals of this year's edition in the Caribbean in April, continuing a poor run of results at recent World Cups.

They play West Indies in the first of two back-to-back Twenty20 matches at The Oval on June 28 before three one-day internationals in the first week of July. A seven-match one-day series against India starts in August.

England one-day squad

Paul Collingwood (Durham, capt), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Leicestershire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Matt Prior (Sussex, wk), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Michael Yardy (Sussex)