Monday, February 14, 2011

Andrew Strauss was in upbeat mood as England arrived in Bangladesh

Andrew Strauss
England have been given an unexpected boost to their World Cup preparations with Paul Collingwood able to travel with the squad to Bangladesh after his wife gave birth earlier than expected. He and Graeme Swann, who has remained at home for the birth of his child, were given paternity leave during the warm-up period but Collingwood arrived in Dhaka on Sunday.
He is also improving steadily from the back injury that forced him to fly home a few days early from Australia after suffering a back spasm in Sydney and could be available for the warm-up matches against Canada and Pakistan. The general health of England's squad is improving although Tim Bresnan (calf) and Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring) are still nursing their injuries.
"Graeme Swann's not here yet. His wife is just about to give birth and he'll be attending that," Andrew Strauss, the England captain, confirmed on his arrival in Bangladesh. "[Collingwood's] wife has given birth to a lovely little daughter. He's here, and his back is getting a lot better. So he should be fully fit."