SPORTS

Pietersen eyes historic World Cup win for England

Source:PTI
February 10, 2011 10:02 IST

England batsman Kevin Pietersen feels that winning the forthcoming Cricket World Cup would cap the "most remarkable" year in English cricket. 

"We're going to a World Cup, and World Cups are incredible events. We've had an incredible 12 months, (winning would) cap off the most remarkable 12 months in English cricket history," Pietersen said.

"It doesn't matter if we've got three or four days (to prepare), that's exactly what we've got. We've got to focus our attention on being as positive as we can to go and do a job in India and that's exactly how the boys are feeling," he told Sky Sports

England won the Twenty20 World Cup last May, before claiming Test series wins against Bangladesh and Pakistan in the summer and then retaining the Ashes in Australia. 

And if their success continues with a maiden victory in cricket's most prestigious tournament, Pietersen says it would be a remarkable and historic achievement. 

England recently suffered a 1-6 drubbing in the seven-match series against Australia and they will have to arrest the poor form if they want to lay their hands on the silverware. 

And Pietersen expects a vastly improved performance at the World Cup. 

"We went out there to win the Ashes, we obviously achieved that. We put a lot of time, a lot of energy, a lot of concentration, a lot of dedication into winning the Ashes. Obviously the one-dayers didn't go according to plan. 

"We want to win the World Cup, so our energies, our attention to detail now turns fully to India and we'll be on the money in India, don't worry about that," the 30-year-old former captain said. 

England will have to cope without Eoin Morgan in the tournament, and Pietersen admits the batsman's broken finger is a big blow to the side. 

"(It is a) huge loss. Morgs has been a fantastic member in the middle order for the last couple of years, he's done so well for England. He is someone who is going to be really missed in our middle order," he said.

Source: PTI
© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

Recommended by Rediff.com

NEXT ARTICLE

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email