Collingwood hails England display

England character pleases Collingwood (UK users only)

England captain Paul Collingwood praised his side's character after they claimed an impressive win over Pakistan in the ICC World Twenty20.

England needed a win after Friday's shock four-wicket loss to the Netherlands but they responded in style much to the delight of Collingwood.

"Our approach from the first ball was purposeful and that was the way we needed to bounce back," he said.

"All 11 players put their hands up and showed a lot of character."

England went into the game knowing that defeat would see them knocked out of the competition but batting first they reached 185-6 at The Oval with Kevin Pietersen (58), Luke Wright (34) and Owais Shah (33) playing key roles.

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Maybe the defeat to the Netherlands has turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it seems to have given the team a real kick up the backside

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The home side's bowlers were equally efficient with Pakistan reduced to 41-3 after Stuart Broad struck with consecutive balls and they were limited to 137-7 for England to win by 48 runs.

Collingwood told BBC Sport that the side had not practised on the field on Saturday but instead had discussed the performance against the Netherlands.

"What we got today was a much better performance," he said.

"Luke Wright at the top of the order really took the game to Pakistan and the way KP came in and put them under pressure was exceptional and that was what we needed.

"We got a great score on the board but we couldn't rest on our laurels and I thought our bowling and fielding was top rate.

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"There is a belief in the squad and if we play like that we cover all bases. We've got guys who can hit the ball well, we've got great thinkers and we've got great fielding and bowling.

"We've just got to get all three disciplines right at the same time and tonight we did."

England took a calculated gamble by recalling Pietersen, who has been troubled by an Achilles tendon problem, and he admitted afterwards that he was only "about 70% fit".

But he said: "It was a huge evening - I was desperate to play. I've never had an injury that has kept me out, which has been hard to deal with."

Pakistan captain Younus Khan said he expected their next game against the Netherlands to be "hard work", adding : "We have a young team and we are lacking that (experience).

"Hopefully the senior guys will come forward and do a job for our team. It's the only chance we have."

He continued: "It will be sad if we don't make it to the Super Eights but it won't be a disaster. Twenty20 cricket is fun cricket - it's more for entertainment, even if it is international cricket."