Pietersen doubtful for third Ashes Test

October 4th, 2009 LONDON - Kevin Pietersen has predicted that England's great form will continue and they will comfortably win the Test series in South Africa in December. "It's not pleasant being on the receiving end but to go to South Africa and reach the semi-finals on the bouncing wickets there has been exceptional," the Daily Star quoted former England skipper Pietersen, as saying.We aim to become the best Test team in the world and, after beating Australia to win the Ashes, we go to South Africa confident that we can beat a very good team.

October 2nd, 2009 LONDON - England batsman Kevin Pietersen has revealed that his wife was furious over a comment made by him last year, where he said that hitting 100 runs for the country was better than sex. Pietersen said that his wife, Jessica Taylor, " wasn't happy" about his comment "Centuries don't come round very often, whereas sex is on tap, isn't it?" "I said to her, 'Darling, you've just got to compare the statistics, I've got 16 Test hundreds and seven in one-day matches.

September 30th, 2009 LONDON - England Batsman Kevin Pietersen, who underwent surgery to cure a long-standing tendon problem, has refused to be ruled out of the winter tour to South Africa, despite fears over his Achilles injury. The star batsman has not featured for England since the second Ashes Test.

August 2nd, 2009 BIRMINGHAM - Injured England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has said that after the retirement of Andrew Flintoff, swing bowlers Jimmy Anderson and Graham Onions would keep English bowling line-up alive. Anderson and Onions had bagged nine wickets amongst them on the second day of the Third Ashes Test to skittle the Aussies for a paltry 263, which robbed the Aussies of any chance to make a comeback in the series.

July 31st, 2009 LONDON - England's injured star cricketer Kevin Piteresen has denied he would ignore central contracts and go freelance to lap up the riches of Twenty20 cricket. Pietersen, who has been ruled out of the ongoing Ashes because of achilles injury, dismissed speculation that leading cricketers, including himself, could soon take control of how and where they play their cricket.

July 25th, 2009 LONDON - The England and Wales Cricket Board has denied reports that their star batsman Kevin Pietersen had aggravated his achilles injury while playing for Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League in South Africa earlier this year. The ECB also denied that they had prescribed any training programme for Pietersen, as alleged by Bangalore Royal Challengers assistant coach and physiotherapist Evan Speechly.

July 22nd, 2009 LONDON - England's star batsman Kevin Pietersen Wednesday predicted the death of Test cricket in a decade. "A few months ago I was so clear in my thoughts that nothing would affect Tests, but then you see what certain players are saying in the media and what kind of players are retiring to continue with the Twenty20 format as well as the riches of Twenty20 cricket," the Daily Telegraph quoted Pietersen as saying.

July 22nd, 2009 LONDON - England team director Andy Flower feels that his team could win the Ashes even without Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff even as speculation mounted over the pair's fitness for the rest of the series against Australia. Both players will be assessed by medical staff this week - Pietersen has Achilles tendon trouble, Flintoff a sore right knee - as England prepare for next week's third Test at Edgbaston.

July 19th, 2009 LONDON - England batsman Kevin Pietersen admitted his achilles injury is always playing on his mind and is affecting his performance in the ongoing Ashes. "To be honest, it plays on my mind all day and every day.

July 12th, 2009 CARDIFF - England batsman Kevin Pietersen and Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson were involved in a heated argument before the start of the final day's play in the first Ashes Test here Sunday. The tiff took place when Pietersen struck a ball that landed where the Australian players were warming up and missed Johnson narrowly.

July 7th, 2009 MELBOURNE - If former Australian Test cricketer dean Jones is to be believed, the first Test in Cardiff will probably end before five days. According to Jones, it is a new pitch with a crusty surface and is likely to turn from day one.

July 6th, 2009 LONDON - Australian fast bowler Brett Lee's chances of leading the attack in the first Ashes Test starting Wednesday at Cardiff looked doubtful as he suffered a rib-injury during a tour-game against the England Lions. The 32-year-old was in great touch during the game against the Lions but after the match he complained of pain on the left side of his rib-cage.

June 26th, 2009 LONDON - The England cricket team is all set to chug along to Belgium on the Eurostar to get battle hardened for the first Ashes Test starting July 8 in Cardiff. For any team, preparation for the Ashes is incomplete without a visit to the battlegrounds of Westeren Europe.

June 14th, 2009 LONDON - England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who has been struggling with an achilles injury, might not play in all the Ashes Tests this summer. The star batsman said the problem could recur at any time.

June 7th, 2009 LONDON - England's Ashes hopes may have suffered a potentially devastating blow with their best batsman, Kevin Pietersen, yet to recover from his Achilles heel injury. The Daily Star quoted team coach Andy Flower as saying that Pietersen's Achilles tendon problem is being carefully nursed through the World Twenty20 and, with just a month to go before the first Ashes Test, England are in serious trouble.