NEW DELHI – England’s Paul Collingwood has revealed his daughters wanted the side to lose their must-win World Cup match against the West Indies because they were missing their father so much. “We hope you lose tomorrow, daddy,” Collingwood’s girls told the all-rounder via Skype on the eve of England’s final group match against the West Indies. “Then you can come home.”
Collingwood told the Daily Mail website: “That was quite tough and I had to think quickly. “I told them, ‘Yes, but if we win, daddy will get a few more pennies to buy you more Barbie dolls’. That seemed to do the trick. ‘OK, I hope you win now’, said Shannon (one of Collingwood’s three young daughters).”
Collingwood’s children very nearly got their original wish though in a match England had to win to stay alive in the tournament. The West Indies, chasing 244, were cruising to victory at 222 for six.
However, they lost their final four wickets for just three runs to give England an 18-run win that would lead to a quarter-final match against co-hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday. England’s progress has been less of a worry for batsman Ian Bell, who is so confident the team will get to the World Cup final he has arranged his wedding for April 6 — four days after the showpiece match in Mumbai.
“I’ve not been getting too much stick from home just yet, there might be a bit more the closer we get,” Bell told the Independent.
“Chantal, my fiancee, will be desperate for us to get to the final but there will be a quick turnaround after that, three or four days I guess. I have left it to her, I just have to turn up at the moment.”
