ICC World Twenty20: England v Sri Lanka****Venue: St Lucia Starts: 1630 BST Thursday, 13 May**Coverage:**plus live text commentary and reports on all matches on the BBC Sport website & mobiles
**England captain Paul Collingwood has backed new dad Kevin Pietersen to overcome jet lag and help fire England into the ICC World Twenty20 final.**Pietersen arrived back in St Lucia only 20 hours before Thursday’s semi-final against Sri Lanka, after dashing to England for his baby’s birth on Monday.
But Collingwood insisted: "In this form of the game especially, your frame of mind is the crucial thing.
“He’s had a baby boy; he’ll be a happy man; he’s had a little bit of a break.”
Pietersen missed England’s final match in the Super Eights on Monday, when they scraped a three-wicket win over New Zealand to complete a perfect campaign in Group E.
And Collingwood is convinced the return of his number three batsman will hand England an extra lift.
KP is back in for Bopara I presume and although we won on Monday, KP’s return is much needed
“He put two man-of-the-match performances in before he left,” added Collingwood.
“The way he’s playing at the moment, getting a player back like that is a great confidence boost for all of us.”
Meanwhile, the England Twenty20 captain said he is not planning to give any motivational speeches ahead of the clash against Sri Lanka, who were beaten by Pakistan in the 2009 final.
“I don’t need it. The guys are ready; they are excited,” Collingwood reflected.
"If there was a feeling around the camp that the guys are nervous or anything like that then maybe something would have to be said.
"But the guys are so confident and focused on the jobs they’ve got to do, the roles they’ve got to play. We’ll have a team meeting tonight, but let me tell you I’m not going to come out with any rip-roaring speech.
"We are confident but not too confident. The boys really do know their roles in the side - and I think that, keeping that same side, it has really helped everyone to help understand their own and each other’s games.
“There was a real belief there from the start, and the boys can’t wait to play tomorrow.”
We’re quite smart as a bowling group and getting smarter all the time
England have shown an impressive versatility during their time in the Caribbean, adapting to the slower wicket of St Lucia’s Beausejour Stadium to beat the Black Caps following two straight victories on the pacy Kensington Oval pitch in Barbados.
All-rounder Tim Bresnan has played a key role in England’s progress to the semi-finals and is adamant the fine run can continue.
“If we keep playing the brand of cricket we can play, it doesn’t really matter who we play against,” stated Bresnan.
“We’ll do our homework before, put our plans in place. We’ll have respect for the opposition but we won’t be scared of anyone.”
Bresnan has been one of England’s revelations during the two-week tournament, batting up the order at seven, a pivotal position in Twenty20, where he guided England to victory against New Zealand alongside Eoin Morgan with a confident 23 not out.
The 25-year-old has also been entrusted with the new ball by Collingwood as well as the crucial final overs.
However, Bresnan believes fellow seamer Ryan Sidebottom has a tougher job.
“I think the first over is almost easier than bowling the third or fourth,” Bresnan commented.
"If you bowl it where you want to - back of a length and straight - with a little bit of variation, especially if it swings as well, the batsmen are just going to have a little bit of a look at you.
"By the third or fourth over, that is when the batter really starts to try to cash in.
“That’s when you’ve got to use your skill and nous to do something different, and keep them guessing.”
"We’re quite smart as a bowling group and getting smarter all the time.
“We make the batters hit into the wind, especially when the boundaries are so big (in St Lucia), and that means they’re playing into our hands. That will be a big factor in our gameplan.”
Sri Lanka secured their semi-final berth following a dramatic last-ball victory over India, with Chamara Kapugedera smashing Ashish Nehra over extra cover for six.
Although they are missing the world’s leading Test wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan because of injury, the Sri Lankans still boast a number of match-winning players.
Former skipper Mahela Jayawardene is in sensational form with the bat and is currently the competition’s top run-scorer with 292, while Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga have yet to fully perform during the tournament.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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