England captain Paul Collingwood believes his side’s ICC World Twenty20 triumph is just as significant as their Ashes win over Australia last year.
Collingwood led England to their first ever success in a global tournament as his team defeated Australia by seven wickets in the World Twenty20 final on Sunday. And the Durham batsman is convinced England’s victory over their old rivals in Barbados is the equal of last year’s Ashes victory as it has lifted a major weight off his players’ shoulders. “We went over there to win a World Cup and we achieved that,” Collingwood told Radio 5 Live on England’s return home to London on Tuesday.
“It’s a massive achievement. We’ve had a monkey on our backs having not won a ICC trophy and put that right. It’s right up there with last year’s Ashes win. We had a team with plenty of belief and a team with plenty of skill.
“The brand of cricket we played was exciting. We really took it to the opposition. Really it was about consistent performances right the way through and we built on that momentum right the way through to the final.”
Collingwood insists beating the Australia team again was a massive boost to England’s confidence ahead of the Ashes tour later this year.