England players optimistic about World Cup chances
England stars Stuart Broad and Kevin Pietersen are hopeful of their side’s chances in the ICC World Cup 2011 which gets underway on 19 February.
Broad has returned from a long injury absence and was impressive in England’s thin 16-run win in the warm-up match against Canada. Pietersen opened the batting in that match and is expected to continue doing so when the tournament begins.
Talking about his new role in the side, Pietersen said, “It's really exciting - a nice positive move going into the World Cup. We spoke about it going into the end of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 tour. We feel at the top of the innings is a really nice time to bat. I'm
excited by it; the team are excited by it - and I'm looking forward to it. I'll look to play my normal game. It's not a pinch-hitting role.”
The Englishman has spent a large part of his career batting at the number four position and has successfully displayed his abilities as an attacking batsman. Many experts believe that it was Pietersen’s natural aggressive attitude which revolutionised England
and has once again put them amongst the top sides of the world.
Pietersen believes he will be able to attack the new ball bowlers on the slow, batting friendly Subcontinent pitches. He also stated that despite a thin margin of victory against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748, his side will be confident of going into the competition.
The man responsible for saving England’s blushes in the match against the lowest ranked team in the tournament, Stuart Broad, has also revealed his desire to win the Cup for his country.
Broad, who last played an international match in December 2010 before receiving an abdominal injury, took five wickets in the warm-up game and stated that he feels fresh after the enforced break.
Broad said, “It is really good to be back. It was two months since I last played so I was a bit nervous before the start. But it was great to get back on the pitch and take a few wickets. I feel very fresh. Having not played for a long time it was all training-based,
so I felt fit and excited to be back on the park and can bring some energy to the unit.”
England will play their second warm-up match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 on 18 February, a day before the prized tournament gets underway.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747. Even though the side is expected to go through, the group is believed to have the potential of producing a few upsets. The Poms officially kick off their
World Cup campaign on 22 February against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Netherlands-c753.
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