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Kevin Pietersen today shrugged off the controversy over the sweep shot that ended his innings yesterday and backed Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar to spin England to victory in the opening Ashes Test in Cardiff.
England have chosen two slow bowlers in a home Test for the first time since 1998 but Pietersen reckons the move will pay dividends after seeing the turn Australia's spinner extracted from the Sophia Gardens wicket on the opening day.
Pietersen's rash attempt to sweep a wide delivery from off-break bowler Nathan Hauritz saw him caught for 69 with a shot that clipped his helmet - but KP believes England's spinners can do plenty of damage to the Aussie batsmen.
He said: "The promising thing was that Hauritz was already spinning the ball a little bit on the first day.
"We've got two spinners, so it's interesting for us if someone is spinning it off the straight on day one.
"Not many Test wickets spin off the straight on day one and the wicket has roughed up and dusted up quite a bit.
"There are a lot of footholds for the spinners to work with, so that keeps us smiling as we look ahead."
Reader views (2)
I bet England blame the Welsh wicket and the weather when their bowlers fail to destroy the Aussies and the game ends as a tame draw
- Keith Price, Luton, England
Why do we keep hearing from Petersen? I thought Andrew Stauss was now captain. Perhaps Petersen should concentrate on his batting.
- Ed, London, England
