Cricket : ‘Pietersen should focus on batting’

Flower urges Kevin Pietersen to put aside any disappointment at missing out on the captaincy.

BIRMINGHAM: England team director Andy Flower urged Kevin Pietersen to put aside any disappointment at missing out on the captaincy and focus instead on climbing to the top of the world batting rankings.

The former England captain did not feature in a revolutionary three-man captaincy system in which Andrew Strauss will captain the Test side with Alastair Cook installed as the one-day skipper and Stuart Broad in charge of the Twenty20 team. “We are very keen for Kevin to become the leading batsman, not only in the English side but in world cricket.”

Pietersen, 30, has scored 5,666 runs at an average of 48.42 in his 71 Tests, and 3,648 at 40.98 from 114 One-Day Internationals. Flower dismissed rumours that Pietersen could quit one-day cricket.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2011.