Kevin Pietersen tried to shrug off another abysmal batting performance after England were dismissed for 98 today by a team of club cricketers in Mumbai.

Little more than a week since collapsing to 99 all out in the £10million match in Antigua, Pietersen's side crumbled again to lose by 124 runs and leave their build-up to Friday's first limited-overs international against India in tatters.

But while England's embarrassed squad began an unscheduled net session this afternoon, the captain insisted: "This really doesn't matter, but it has taught us a few quick lessons.

"Today, and what happened the other day, doesn't really count in the grand scheme of things, what counts are the internationals. I think the guys are all right."

England looked to have put the Antigua debacle behind them when beating a different Mumbai side by 122 runs on Sunday. But today's marginally more experienced opponents routed Pietersen's team in 25 overs - with only Samit Patel of the frontline batsmen reaching double figures - after scoring 222 for seven.

"The opposition wasn't spectacular the other day and it was better today so we've just got to turn our games on and get our heads right," added Pietersen.

"I'm not sure if we were fully focused but this is a really good lesson, I don't see this is a bad thing at all.

"It's just a case of learning from today, and at the end of the tour no one really remembers what happened today, or the other day. What counts is what happens on Friday."