Twenty20 Pulse

England’s best batsman Kevin Pietersen no longer sees Twenty20 cricket as a silly aspect of the sport, adding that his view changed during the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007.

The Independent quoted the Indian Premier League’s highest paid player as saying: “During that World Cup, my view changed.

“I think I said that (silly) during our first game, but the realisation that you are playing for a massive trophy and in a World tournament against the best means my philosophy about Twenty20 became a lot more serious. If you’re playing for England in a world tournament that means something. Every time I play for England it is really important, so this is huge and it is definitely not a silly game anymore,” he added.

“We are playing here to win a World Cup – we have never won a world tournament so this is of the utmost importance,” he said.

England begin their quest to put right what went wrong two years ago today. They will play Scotland in the first of two warm-up games before the tournament opens on Friday. It is one they should win with ease although the opposition will be deadly earnest.

The strain in his right Achilles tendon is not fully repaired but Pietersen said it was now precluding his long training runs and nothing else.

Pietersen has been treated partly by England’s new head physiotherapist, Mark Young, who has previously worked in athletics with stars like Usain Bolt and Asafa Bolt, which has clearly impressed Pietersen.

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