Pietersen impressed by England resolve
Kevin Pietersen, who missed England's CB Series triumph in Australia after flying home to nurse a broken rib, is impressed with the quiet resolve being shown by his team-mates since their arrival in the Caribbean
Cricinfo staff
08-Mar-2007
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"There is a definite difference around the squad," said Pietersen. "To win a trophy abroad, especially against Australia and come back after a few weeks off and get the batteries recharged is great. You can just tell the difference here at the hotel. The boys have smiles on their faces, there's a different feel.
"There is a lot more joking around and messing about and a lot more positives," added Pietersen, who admitted how depressing the atmosphere had been for much of the Ashes tour. "There weren't too many positives when I was out there nine or 10 weeks into the trip and we kept getting hammered all the time, so it was totally different."
Pietersen's rib injury was sustained when he advanced down the track to a Glenn McGrath short ball and missed out on an attempted pull shot. But, he added, he didn't mind one jot to have missed out on the glory, even though he felt he had been in just the sort of form to make a big impression on the competition.
"I know how difficult the winter was, it was as hard as anything I've experienced," he admitted. "I didn't get a victory at all and I was out there for two-and-a-bit months and didn't see a victory once. To see the boys win, it didn't matter whether I was there or not, was brilliant. The break might have done me good, but I'd have preferred to have been in Australia."
England have an intriguing rematch lined up against Australia in St Vincent tomorrow, their final warm-up match before their first competitive fixture gets underway against New Zealand on March 16. And Pietersen believes that the absence of such key performers as Brett Lee and Matthew Hayden will undermine Australia's preparations.
"We had our vulnerable times when we didn't have Vaughan, Trescothick, Flintoff last year and we don't have Simon Jones," said Pietersen. "That's when we got a lot of stick and we weren't as competitive as we were the previous year. I think a team does become vulnerable when they lose big players. They still have great players in their side, but hopefully they will be vulnerable when we play them."