Interview: England all-rounder Paul Collingwood

By Paul Collingwood England all-rounder

Our Champions Trophy defeat opened our eyes again to exactly how strong Australia are and the standards we are going to have to set ourselves to beat them.

I was surprised, and a little baffled, to hear Geoffrey Boycott's suggestion that Duncan Fletcher should pay with his job because of recent results

But it will not affect the way we feel as we prepare for the Ashes because of the way we separate our approach for each form of the game.

And it certainly does not mean we should press the panic button at such a crucial time.

We have been on the winning trail in Test matches for four years now and our belief will not be dented because of one performance against Australia in a one-day game.

The confidence gained from Test success will be there when we arrive in Australia no matter what happens here.

I was surprised, and a little baffled, to hear Geoffrey Boycott's suggestion that Duncan Fletcher should pay with his job because of recent results.

Of course we are disappointed in our one-day form but, with England the holders of the Ashes and about to go over and defend them, it is astounding someone can think that.

The game progresses every single year, as do theories and coaching techniques. Duncan advances with the game. Certainly his theories do.

It is only because I was stranded down the order in this one game that people think I'm wasted there

But I also do not think you should blame the coach for our results. You have to look at the players themselves. We're the ones making simple mistakes out in the middle.

The coach can give you as much advice as possible but it is the players who go out and make the decisions.

One of Mr Boycott's criticisms concerned the way I am used in the batting order.

Ever since I started playing for England my role has been to finish games off. The role takes experience and an ability to adapt your approach to suit the game situation.

At the moment I come in at six or, if we get a good start but lose a wicket with around 20 overs, I may come in at five.

I am sure we will discuss this week whether that will change for the future. I would love to move up the order if asked but that is not my role at the moment.

It is only because I was stranded down the order in this one game that people think I'm wasted there.

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But look, as an example, at our first ODI in Pakistan last year when we hit 327-4 in Lahore. Fred Flintoff and I put on 90 runs off the last 11 overs.

Those are the sort of situation you plan for. You cannot set the batting order expecting to be five down after 10 overs.

Comments like this can come out because people cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is understandable after so many one-day defeats.

We know we can beat any team in the world with the sort of performances that saw us beat Pakistan twice last month but at the moment we are not consistent enough.

As we prepare to face a strong West Indies team next Saturday we are in even more of a must-win situation than we were before our last two games.

I know that sounds ridiculous because we are out of the competition but we need to get the ball rolling on our one-day form and to bring some pride and confidence back.

There will be no experimenting. We need to fire on all cylinders.