KEVIN PIETERSEN WANTS TO RETURN TO CRICKET

The English middle-order batsman, Kevin Pietersen, is aiming to make a comeback in Surrey’s three-day game against Cambridge MCCU next week, after recovering from his hernia Injury.

The right-handed player, Pietersen, has not been playing since his early dropout of the ICC Cricket World Cup, in March this year.

The 30-year-old batsman batted for first time since then, in a practice session with Surrey on Wednesday.

Pietersen is also hoping to make his place in the England squad for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, starting from May 26, 2011.  

He was keen to return to the national squad but he claimed that he was not fully recovered yet. While talking to BBC London 94.9, he stated, "I'm not fully fit yet, I've got to get myself back into the swing of things. I'm targeting the game against Cambridge next week but I've got to do a few fitness tests before that."

It is also expected that the player could also feature in Surrey’s County Championship match with Essex, starting from May 18.

"I want to get some time in the middle and some fielding overs in my legs. You can't just go out and play in a Test match. It will just be nice to put some whites back on and to think about cricket. If I get some (runs), I get some. If I don't, I don't.”

He also shared that he is eyeing the first Test match against Sri Lanka, “I want to get all that out the way so that I'm ready for the first Test match."

Pietersen’s nomination for Captaincy was avoided by the England management despite his eagerness to take the charge.

Alastair Cook was appointed as the One Day International skipper after Andrew Strauss stepped down while the Twenty20 side was assigned to Stuart Broad.

Pietersen expressed his happiness regarding the English Cricket Board’s (ECB) decision and congratulated the new captains on his Twitter page, "Congrats to Cookie & Broady on the captaincies.. New era for ENG. Youngcaptains for the future.. Exciting times ahead!!"

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Kevin Pietersen looking to lead England in ODI cricket if Andrew Strauss steps down

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has revealed that he would love to take up the One Day International captaincy of the team once again if Andrew Strauss steps down as a skipper.
Many recent rumours suggested that Strauss will be giving up the captaincy of the ODI side after the conclusion of the ICC World Cup 2011 and will only focus on the longest version of the game. However, no such announcement from Strauss has come despite the conclusion of the mega event.
England under the captaincy of Strauss reached the quarter-final stage of the World Cup but were thrashed by co-hosts Sri Lanka. The Poms also faced some humiliating defeats during the group matches at the hands of minnows Ireland and Bangladesh.
Strauss, who was appointed as England’s captain in 2009, brought a great improvement in the team’s performance during 2010 and did not lose a single ODI series in the entire year. He led the side to some remarkable wins including the 2010-11 Ashes series down under- a feat England managed after 24 years.
Pietersen has been a key player in these successes as he ended the Ashes with 360 runs from 6 innings including his career-best innings of 227. In addition, he also played useful innings in the recently concluded World Cup but was forced to return home earlier due to a hernia concern.
The right-handed batsman had previously served as England’s Test and ODI captain for less than six months in 2008-09.
“A lot of water has passed under the bridge since I last did it and it's something I've thought about in the past few weeks since the rumours surfaced about Andy Strauss stepping down,” said Pietersen.
Showing confidence on his abilities, Pietersen said that he could take the over the captaincy for the second time with more confidence being an experienced player. While recalling his short-term captaincy period, he said that he did not do a bad job and in fact had some memorable moments during his tenure while playing against South Africa.
He asserted that he would welcome the opportunity to lead the England side. Apart from Pietersen, England pacer Stuart Broad has also showed his interest in leading the side in future.

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