KP: Fear factor will not plague revitalised England
KEVIN PIETERSEN believes his England side have finally conquered their fear of failure following their impressive World Twenty20 victory over Pakistan on Sunday.
The Hampshire batsman returned from an Achilles injury to smash a match-winning 58 and seal England’s qualification for the Super Eights.
England came out fighting after Friday night’s embarrassing six-wicket defeat to the Netherlands, and Pietersen believes a renewed self-belief, generated by the Pakistan victory, makes England genuine contenders to land a first major tournament success. “We just wanted to go out and play cricket like we’d played over the last two or three months and the guys really turned it on,” said Pietersen, whose 58 came off just 38 balls. “It was a huge game because Pakistan are a fantastic team and I think our boys showed we’re a force to be reckoned with.”
Now with England’s passage to the last eight confirmed, the former captain says his men are in the right frame of mind. “In the England teams I’ve played in for a quite a while there have been players who have played with fear,” he added. “I think the guys went out against Pakistan to put in a performance where they were not worried about what happens.”