Colly wants Eoin to join him as winning England captain

PAUL COLLINGWOOD says he can’t wait to welcome another man to the exclusive club of England captains who have lifted an ICC global trophy.

The former skipper remains the only one to have lifted silverware, following the World T20 victory in the Caribbean nine years ago.

But with England hot favourites to land a first men’s World Cup against New Zealand in their first final for 27 years at Lord’s tomorrow, Colly says he is keeping everything crossed that Eoin Morgan will join him.

“I don’t want to have that tag, I don’t want to be the only England captain to do it,” he said. “There’d be no greater feeling for me than to see Eoin with that trophy.

“Nobody deserves it more. I’ll be in the dressing room biting my nails.

“I’m desperate to see him lift it because what he has done for this team is remarkable. It would be a perfect ending to this journey.

“They are seriously talented cricketers and all you want for them is a chance. Now they have that chance to win a World Cup.” Collingwood, assistant coach to Trevor Bayliss, has watched with admiration as Morgan picked up the side from the wreckage of the last World Cup in 2015 to lead a white-ball revolution.

And the former captain believes he will leave a huge legacy when he decides to step down.

“Eoin has done a fantastic job, not just these past four years but he revolutionised our whole approach with his attitude – how you go about playing the game,” said Collingwood.

“His legacy will last for a lot longer than this World Cup. We’re the benchmark now and that approach and that legacy will go on.”

And while he says he is there for Morgan, should he need him, Collingwood insisted the side have remained focussed on

the message and the target. “These guys are a breath of fresh air in how they go about their cricket. The message in this environment is to go out with pure freedom, no restrictions,” he said.

“We want them to feel like they’re playing in the back yard, that’s when you love cricket the most. You’re playing with your friends – you’re not thinking about consequences.

“You can sense over the last three games that the mojo is back, the belief is back. It’s very powerful when you see that in a team, it puts the opposition under pressure.”

Bayliss believes England have a chance to inspire a new generation of fans, especially seeing as the match will be broadcast on free-toair television after Sky and Channel 4 reached an agreement.

“It’s an opportunity to influence another generation of young cricketers,” he said when asked whether it could have the same effect as the 2005 Ashes.

“There’s a number of the players in this team who were young when that was happening and it inspired them to greater things. Hopefully, this can do a similar thing for the next generation.”