Strauss pays tribute to hero Colly’s rescue job
ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss heaped praise on Paul Collingwood after the all-rounder’s marathon stint at the crease helped earn a draw in the opening Ashes Test.
Collingwood faced down 245 deliveries in 343 minutes to stabilise the home side’s second innings following the loss of three key wickets before lunch.
And his knock proved the platform to avert a crushing innings defeat that would have signalled the worst possible start to England’s bid to reclaim the urn.
“All day we were not quite in the contest. We lost wickets early on but all credit must go to Paul Collingwood – he was outstanding,” said Strauss. “He does it time and time again for us in pressure situations. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Strauss also hailed James Anderson and Monty Panesar, who guided England to safety with a defiant last-wicket stand.
“The batsmen shouldn’t have let them get in that position, but they showed a lot of character,” he added.
“Thankfully we got away with it and hopefully we can come out and do better at Lord’s. We’ve not given away too much momentum. We are just very, very thankful to get a draw and we can take pride in the fight we showed.”
Hero Collingwood said the draw would prove a huge psychological boost ahead of the second Test, which starts at Lord’s on Thursday.
“We can take a lot of confidence out of this game,” he said. “We showed great character and heart. It was closer than we would have hoped for and at one point we looked dead, but the boys at the end did well.”