Paul Collingwood is confident the prize on offer during the next four matches can spur England to victory over India.

The England captain has been baffled by the inconsistent nature of his side’s performances during the ICC World Twenty20, with a brilliant display against Pakistan sandwiched by defeats against Holland and South Africa.

Collingwood will set out a simple scenario as a springboard to winning the ICC World Twenty20 crown - win the next four matches - when he addresses the team in the Lord’s dressing room on Sunday prior to their must-win Super-Eight match against holders India.

It’s now or never

He explained: “In the dressing room, what we take out on the pitch we still believe is a side that can beat the best sides in the competition - and we’re going to have to.

“The amazing thing now is that if we win the next four games we win the ICC World T20 and that’s a great incentive.”

If England are to end their long wait for a major one-day success, they must first end their long losing run against an India side who have dominated them in all forms of the game over the last few years.

England’s last success over India in any form of cricket was in September 2007, when they claimed a seven-wicket victory at Lord’s to claim a 4-3 series success as preparation for the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.

Since then India have not lost to England in eight international matches in all forms, but Collingwood will be drawing inspiration from that victory at Lord’s.

Asked why he believed England could end that losing run, Collingwood said: “We’ll probably take our minds back to a performance we put in against them during that one-day series.

Do-or-die

“I know it’s a completely different format of the game but we were 3-3 at the time, it was a big pressure game and we came out and won well on that day.

“Sometimes we play our best cricket when we put ourselves under this sort of pressure. We take our minds back to that Pakistan game, the boys were so desperate to do well and stayed very calm about it.

“As a team we’re very confident. I know we’ve had an up and down tournament so far but we’re still in with a shout and we know we’ve got the players in the dressing room to put the performances in on the day.”

If England are to triumph and preserve their interest in the tournament, they must first silence the explosive strokeplay of middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh, who hit Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over during the last ICC World T20 in Durban.

Yuvraj warmed up for Sunday’s match by hammering 67 off 43 balls during Friday’s shock defeat to West Indies - but Collingwood is confident Broad’s greater experience this time will ensure there is no repeat of that stunning display.

“I saw some highlights the other day and it proved how raw he was at the time, but what he’s done in the last couple of years has been exceptional.

New Broad to ball!

“Stuart’s grown as a man, his skills are much better and his execution is much better. I’m sure he’s absolutely relishing this competition that’s going to come up tomorrow and I’ve got no doubts he’ll be desperate to come on and bowl when he comes in.

“The last time he was trying to have an answer, but his execution on the day wasn’t right.

“He was trying to get those yorkers in and didn’t actually get it right, but I think he’s proven over the last couple of years how versatile he is as a bowler.

“He can be a really good wicket-taking option but he can also stem the flow of runs. At the moment he’s one of the most economical bowlers in the competition, which shows how far he’s come as a bowler.”

Ryan Sidebottom, dropped after the Holland loss, is back in consideration as England attempt to strengthen their bowling options.

The versatility of Middlesex batsman Eoin Morgan - also overlooked since the Holland match - could also figure.

Approaching milestones

- Yuvraj Singh (27) needs three sixes to become the first batsman to register 30 sixes in Twenty20 Internationals.

- Gautam Gambhir (47) requires three fours to become the first Indian batsman to post 50 fours in Twenty20 Internationals.

Head to Head

- India and England have played against each other only once. India had defeated England by 18 runs at Durban on September 18, 2007.

- India have won 9 and lost 5 (NR 1, Tied 1) out of 16 contested - winning % 56.25.

- England have won seven and lost 11 out of 18 contested - winning % 38.89.

England star Kevin Pietersen admits his troublesome Achilles injury could rule him out of the Ashes against Australia.

The England batsman, who has seen his summer disrupted by the problem, is allowed just one more cortisone injection in his spine.

Pietersen told the News of the World: “I’m taking the best medical advice and I’m doing everything I can to face Australia but, occasionally, Achilles injuries do flare up.

“If that happens on the morning of a Test then I wouldn’t be able to take part.”

The South African-born star missed last week’s embarrassing ICC World Twenty20 defeat to Holland with the injury.

He added: “I can promise you I am doing everything in my power to make sure I am OK. I’ve got one more injection I can have before I’m not allowed any more. That would be a cortisone epidural into the spinal cord.

“The Achilles injury is a nerve problem related to the back but since I had the injection last Friday I have been fine. There is still pain in the heel but I’m doing the right thing to try to eliminate as much pain as I can.

“In order to fix an Achilles injury like this properly I probably do need two or three months out of the game.

“Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. I’m a man who wants to play every game for England and as much as I can. As long as I can walk I will play.”

Ricky Ponting had an injury scare in practice as England’s Ashes opponents began their preparation for the ICC World Twenty20.

Ponting was hit on the wrist by a cricket ball, struck by Michael Hussey, and required attention by team doctors in Nottingham.

The 34-year-old batsman sat out the rest of the net session but should return to action on Monday, when he is set to play in the warm-up match against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge.

An Australia team spokesman said: “He copped a whack on the wrist and had it iced for the rest of training.

“He’s fine though and he’ll be back tomorrow. There was no need to have an x-ray.”

England will resist the temptation to use the ODI series against West Indies as a warm-up event for the ICC World Twenty20.

Following Thursday’s wash-out at Headingley, England have just two matches remaining in the series before they switch their attentions to the ICC World Twenty20 and their opening match against Holland at Lord’s on June 4.

But captain Andrew Strauss, who is not in the Twenty20 squad after asking not to be considered, will not compromise with selection in the next two matches just to give players match practice for the other event.

Uncapped Middlesex batsman Eoin Morgan, who has been included in both squads, is one who would benefit from a run-out over the next few days as a possible replacement for Kevin Pietersen, who has been ruled out of the series with an Achilles problem.

Best side everytime

Strauss, though, stressed: “I think it’s important to compartmentalise each form of the game and pick the best side to play in any given series.

“We gained some momentum in One-day cricket in the West Indies. We were a little bit Jekyll and Hyde, up and down, but we came through and won the series and we need two more matches to develop something for the One-day squad.

“Then it goes to the T20 with different players involved again so you need to compartmentalise that and Eoin Morgan is in the squad, so of course there is a chance.”

Having claimed an historic victory in the Caribbean earlier this year, Strauss is keen to continue the momentum gained there and from the Test series win over West Indies recently with a minimum of disruption to the line-up.

Bresnan to continue

Yorkshire all-rounder Tim Bresnan will also hope to keep his spot after impressing in the second Test victory in Durham for Sunday’s second One-day encounter in Bristol.

“The wickets can alter your thoughts, but we will have to see what it is like down in Bristol,” said Strauss. “We still have fairly reasonable ideas of the type of team we want to play in this tournament.”

He added: “The T20 is not something I’m involved with, but there are quite a few of the Ashes squad involved in that and if we can get more wins under the belt that will really help us.

“If we can get some more wins under our belt in that tournament in our own conditions then I think we have a really good chance of doing well in that tournament.”

England are facing a major decision on Andrew Flintoff’s best route back to full fitness before the start of the Ashes.

Flintoff was ruled out for up to five weeks with a knee injury.

Flintoff ruled out of IPL

The influential 31-year-old all-rounder has flown home from South Africa, where he was performing for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, to undergo keyhole surgery on his right knee and will miss the forthcoming Test and one-day international series against West Indies.

He is due to return for the start of the ICC World Twenty20 tournament, but if he plays in that event and England reach the June 21 final it will restrict him to only one first-class match before the start of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff on July 8.

It leaves new coach Andy Flower and national selector Geoff Miller, who are due to announce the squad for the first Test against West Indies next week, facing a big decision.

They can either give Flintoff three championship matches with Lancashire and miss the ICC event or allow him to play in the tournament and give him just one first-class outing - either for England against Warwickshire in a three-day match at Edgbaston starting on July 1 or in Lancashire’s championship match at Trent Bridge starting the day before.

No decision will be made on Flintoff’s likely comeback schedule until he has come through another rehabilitation programme with Lancashire physio Dave Roberts, but his county believe the untimely spell on the sidelines is unlikely to have a big effect on his performances later this summer.

“It’s a desperate blow for him”

“It’s swings and roundabouts because Fred will come back full of energy and desperate to play and he won’t have been worn down by the schedule, but I’m sure he’d have liked to have played in all the cricket this summer,” said Jim Cumbes, Lancashire’s chief executive.

“It’s a desperate blow for him and I feel incredibly sorry for him. He’s had a number of injuries which have affected his career, but at least this one could, by the sound of things, have happened at any time.

“I’ve had a cartilage problem myself and I know it’s something that happens over a period of time - it’s not something that just goes.”

Indeed Flintoff, had he not been snapped up by the IPL, he would probably have featured for Lancashire in this week’s championship victory at Hove with England giving most of their contracted players permission to play county cricket this week in the build-up to the first Test at Lord’s on May 6.

“I don’t think anyone is to blame at all in this case, it’s just a case of Fred being very unlucky and I think everyone hopes he will get back to full fitness as soon as possible,” added Cumbes.

“He could easily have done it playing for us at Hove this week and worse than that, he could have done it bowling in the nets on the eve of the first Test and missed two or three Tests.”