http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Knight-c71599: KP will thrive
Former England opening batsman Nick Knight says Kevin Pietersen will thrive in the build up to the Ashes this winter.
Pietersen was dropped from the one-day and twenty20 squads to play http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 by the England selectors but Knight says this will have a positive impact on Pietersen's game.
Pietersen has now joined Surrey on loan for the rest of the season and the former England number one expects him to enjoy the county season and be ready to play the Australians this winter, regardless of whether he gets runs or not.
There are many reasons why being dropped from the limited overs England team can work for Pietersen's game. There are no questions at all over whether he will or won't be on the plane to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in mid-November.
A beneficial effect
Knight argues that being dropped from the England set-up will allow Pietersen to go back to the grass roots of the country game and enjoy himself. The pressure if playing for England is huge because the side has been so successful over the last year and a half.
Playing county cricket will allow Pietersen to play against some bowling attacks that he has never played against before. It will also let him bond with a few players at http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Surrey-c851 in a way that he wouldn't be able to do in the England team.
More importantly Pietersen has the chance to get some form and confidence back. He has just become a father and has admitted that his cricket life has been poor over the last two years. If England are going to win the Ashes this winter than their number four has to start playing with a smile on his face again.
Knight said: "I'll tell you the other one who is going to be shaking in his boots right now is Ricky Ponting and Australia. Kevin Pietersen will undoubtedly come back better and stronger from this. Don't forget, he was man of the series in the World Twenty20 earlier this year. He is a fantastic player at odds with himself at the moment."
A certainty to go
Pietersen will be one of the first names on the list to go and tour Australia with England. This is because he is one of the few English players that has an edge over the Australians. They constantly try and bring him down verbally but he reacts and scores big runs against the old enemy.
Pietersen is also a big character and this will be vital in the England dressing room if England don't have it all their own way in Australia. Pietersen will thrive in being the person giving the support as opposed to needing it.
Knight added: "Do they need to bring in a player like Kevin Pietersen, as great a player as he is, at this particular point in the season? Either way round it's going to be interesting to see how this unfolds. It's hard to believe that the destructive player we saw six months ago is the same one who has been scratching around in the Test matches against Pakistan."
Betting advice
Pietersen only scored 38 runs on his Surrey debut in a 40 over match. However, it was plain for all cricket fans to see that he scored these runs in second gear. Have no hesitation at all in backing Pietersen to score a big hundred in one of Surrey's four-day games at the back end of this season.
Also back him to do well in Australia. He will love the fast and flat tracks and he will thrive on the abuse that he's likely to get from the Australian public and media.
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