For someone who took pride in his fielding and was regarded as one of the finest fielders during his heydays Paul Collingwood reckoned that his 'athletic' Capricorn Commanders team hold the edge when the Masters Champions League (MCL) plays out from Thursday.

And Collingwood hoped that he can replicate the success he had with the England T20 team when the MCL reaches its business end just a day short of Valentine' Day on February 13. Collingwood had led England to the World T20 title in 2010.

Now 39 Collingwood is the captain of the Capricorn Commanders and will reunite with former England Test captain and teammate Michael Vaughan. The team also consists of Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq Australia's Andrew Symonds and Ben Laughlin and South Africa's Ashwell Prince among others.

"I'm very excited to be honest with the combination. I think what Michael Vaughan has chosen in the auction are a group of players who seem to be very athletic. I know this is a Masters competition but what we do have in the squad is a team that has a lot of current players and so hopefully the athleticism gives us a bit of an edge" Collingwood said on Monday.

"I think we are quite luck in terms of the personnel that we have in our team. We seem to be quite an athletic team and I think that is going to be a crucial part of this tournament. Fielding standards running between the wickets all these kind of things is going to be quite crucial. So we do seem to have a squad that is athletic and physically quite fit and players that have played recently" he added.

The MCL brings together retired cricketers and legends from the past from around the world and it is a bit of a step into the unknown. But Collingwood said that he didn't find it tough to get different personalities to work together.

"To be honest with you it is not too difficult at all. These guys are experienced competitors and are used to travelling around the world and adapting to different conditions. I think the one thing that is really exciting is that we have done a lot of battles in the park in the past but once you get into the same team same environment it is amazing how quickly you can gel. And another exciting thing is you make new friends guys that you have never played with. Another exciting part I find is different cultures in your team different personnel but you have all got the same aim and ambition to go out there and win. And we want to go out there and win" said Collingwood.

"I spoke to the boys and we had a training session last night indoors and you can just sense that there is a competitive edge and once you get international cricketers together no matter where they are from around the world they want to win. And they have pride in their performance. It is an exciting part of the game - bringing a group of guys together and trying to make them gel as quickly as possible. And luckily lot of them played recently guys like Ben Laughlin who has featured in the Big Bash" he added.