England Lions' Craig Kieswetter an instant hit with Paul Collingwood

Paul Collingwood had never seen Craig Kieswetter bat until his match-winning innings in Abu Dhabi, but he made such an instant impression that England's Twenty20 captain was moved today to compare him to England's great South Africa-born batsmen of the past. Collingwood was not about to claim that Kieswetter was as good as Allan Lamb or Robin Smith, who shared 141 Tests and 193 one-day internationals for England between 1982 and 1996. He has a keener sense than most of the game's history and, in any case, Kieswetter's 81 in 66 balls in a warm-up match between England and England Lions could only be described as an innings under pressure if he suffered from a fear of empty spaces. That is kenophobia, incidentally; someone, somewhere is afraid of virtually everything. But from the moment his first scoring shot seared past Collingwood at backward point, he communicated that when he hit a ball it stayed hit. When Michael Lumb, another South Africa-born batsman, began to pummel a ball or two himself, the message was clear. Kieswetter could have played forever for Somerset without Collingwood becoming personally aware of his qualities. Such is the all-consuming nature of England's summer. "I'd never seen him play at all and I'd never met him," he said. "I was very impressed, more so with how hard he hit the ball. It is not just ­half-volleys he is hitting, it is good-length balls. It seems that in the last couple of decades South Africa-born players have tended to come through the system and hit the ball hard. Look at Allan Lamb and Robin Smith in the early days and then KP has come into the game and hit it hard. Kieswetter is no different." Asked for an explanation, he wondered whether it might be something to do with "the confidence involved in going for your shots that comes from playing on good wickets from an early age". It probably also has something to do with health and safety – English youngsters do not have to blast too many balls out of a net at force before somebody who is not even watching tells them to be careful. Collingwood has no qualms about the rights of Kieswetter or Lumb to play for England, and presented it as an ­inevitable consequence of South Africa's political shifts, and the financial lure of the English county circuit which might be lowly paid compared to some professional sports, but where salaries of £100,000 are increasingly common. "A lot of South Africa-born players have seen the situation in South Africa and decided where their best opportunities lie. A lot of them are very good players and as long as they go down the right channels and qualify then I have no ­problem with that. Craig Kieswetter became ­English yesterday and it is what has happened for two decades. We can't say it is good for one player and not another." Praise and protection given, Collingwood then insisted on perspective, extolling the importance of Matt Prior, the wicketkeeper threatened by Kieswetter, to England. There will be no sudden inclusion of Kieswetter or Lumb in England's Twenty20 ranks for the two matches against Pakistan, not tomorrow or Saturday. In fact, considering Pakistan's confusion – the usual heady mix of sackings, impending sackings, droppings, intrigue and political infighting – Kieswetter probably has a better chance of playing for them. Pakistan are afraid of contentment – and there is not even an official phobia for that. They have been finalists in the past two World Twenty20 tournaments, but they approach the next in the Caribbean in the spring in maddeningly self-destructive mode, with the serious-minded Shoaib Malik taking temporary charge against England because Shahid Afridi is banned from the first match for ball biting in ­Australia. Mohammad Yousuf, the Test captain, preferred to get his teeth into Shoaib, alleging that he was a bad dressing-room influence in Australia. Intikhab Alam, a caretaker coach, is not here because he is about to face a government inquiry. Across from the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, at the ICC academy where he is a coach, Mudassar Nazar, a former Pakistan opener, shook his head sadly and described the inquiry as "complete hogwash". "The one guy they had been grooming for the captaincy, Younis Khan, decided he didn't want to play because of this nonsense," Mudassar said. "If you don't perform well, you're in front of senators. "We know why they lost in Australia, they played badly, they dropped 30 catches. What have all these senators got to offer cricket? Cricket attracts all kinds of people in Pakistan. It was bad enough having generals and non-technical people running the cricket board, now we have politicians. "I don't know what the attraction is for these people. They've asked four or five people to be coach, but everybody has refused. Any self-respecting person would say no. They're only going to get the sack in a few months. It's the most difficult job in cricket." Asked who might want the job, he said: "Somebody very desperate."