Pietersen stands by Strauss

12 January 2009

Kevin Pietersen stressed that his successor, Andrew Strauss, has his full support

Kevin Pietersen insists he will give Andrew Strauss his total support as he settles into life as England captain.

Pietersen resigned as skipper last week after five months in charge, on the same day that coach Peter Moores left his post and Strauss was installed as Pietersen’s successor.

Strauss revealed that his predecessor had offered his full support following his appointment, and Pietersen confirmed he will assist the new man in any way he can on the tour of the West Indies and beyond.

“Straussy knows that he can ring me up for advice,” said Pietersen.

“But at the end of the day I’ve only captained England for three Test matches and I’ve only captained nine or 10 one-day internationals, so I’m no expert in captaincy.

“If he needs advice on a friends basis and on a team-mates basis, I’ll totally give him advice.

“He’s a top, top man. He’s one of the guys I get on really, really well with, so he’s gonna have no troubles.”

Pietersen also insisted he is relishing a return to the ranks as a senior player and leading batsman when England fly to the Caribbean next week.

He told Sky News: “I'm now going back to bat, something that I absolutely love doing and something that was a childhood dream, playing international cricket and playing against the best players in the world.

“So at 28 years old now I'm going to go back and do something I absolutely love.”