Tonight:
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Kevin Pietersen saved England from World Twenty20 humiliation against Pakistan — but there remains a huge question-mark over his participation in the Ashes after the batsman admitted he was only 70 per cent fit.
Pietersen was given the all-clear to play in the Group B encounter at The Brit Oval. The gamble appeared to pay off as Pietersen scored 58 from 38 balls to help England to a 48-run win, which ensures they progress to the Super Eight.
Captain Paul Collingwood later confirmed he would not take chances with Pietersen's fitness if his Achilles tendon injury flares up again, although England now have three days until their next match. The problem kept the South African-born batsman out of England's shock defeat by the Netherlands in the opening game of the tournament on Friday, and the 28-year-old revealed: “I reckon I'm about 70 per cent fit.
“Hopefully, that is the last of it now because I just love playing. It was a huge evening — I was desperate to play, I've never had an injury that has kept me out. It has been hard to deal with.
“It was a huge match. If we hadn't won, we were out, and that is not nice.”
Impressively though Pietersen batted, he frequently turned down the chance to turn one run into two, increasing the suspicion that his Achilles might still be too fragile for sustained, hard running.
Yet relieved as England's fans will be to see their team advance, it is the Ashes — only 30 days away — which remain the focus of the summer, and Collingwood's cagey stance on Pietersen was far from reassuring.
The Durham player said: “Kevin will not be risked. His injury is for the medical staff to manage, and the decisions are theirs to make — but we wouldn't risk him. It's as simple as that. He will not be risked for the rest of the summer.”
There was better news on Andrew Flintoff who suffered no adverse reaction when he bowled for the first time outdoors since an operation on his right knee six weeks ago.
He sent down six overs before the start of Lancashire's LV County Championship match against Somerset at Old Trafford and repeated the exercise during the lunch break.
Lancashire coach Peter Moores said: “He was bowling within himself but he came through nicely.”
