Pietersen promises Ashes after winning start
England captain Kevin Pietersen boasted that his side would beat Australia and reclaim the Ashes after a six-wicket victory at The Oval got his reign off to a winning start.
Pietersen looked on as his top order comfortably polished off the 197 runs needed for victory over South Africa, thanks largely to a best-ever stand of 123 from opening duo Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook. And the new skipper was sufficiently impressed to boldly predict success in the Ashes series next year.
“If we play like we played this week then we will beat Australia,” he said. “It is going to take a lot to do it. This is a one off and a starting stage but the key is to turn up to every single Test match like we did this week.
“What we have got to do is look at the Australians and learn from them. They are on it every day and every session. That is what we have to do and my main drive with this team is to be on top of it every day and make sure we do not have any comfort zones.”
Despite leading his side to victory in the final Test, Pietersen accepted that the country of his birth deserved their 2-1 series success.
“Their batsmen played some great innings so 2-1 is about right,” he added. “At Lord’s we had the upper hand and then South Africa drummed it into us for the next seven or eight days at Headingley and Edgbaston. We’ve tried our hardest but at the start of this new era, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Contrary to earlier comments from Proteas skipper Graeme Smith, the pitch had not deteriorated on the final day, leaving Strauss and Cook to give the hosts a solid platform for their run chase. After a slow start they got into their rhythm, Cook in particular looking fluent for his 67 until eventually finding Smith at first slip off the bowling of Makhaya Ntini.
Ian Bell made only four before being bowled by Ntini and three balls later England were three wickets down when Strauss fell at leg gully for a battling 58. Pietersen looked the man most likely to close the match but departed to spinner Paul Harris with only 15 runs needed.
Paul Collingwood guided England closer with an enterprising 25no before Andrew Flintoff hit the winning runs with a huge six.