KALLIS WANTS TO HALT KP'S DOMINANCE
South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis has vowed to wipe the grin off Kevin Pietersen's face by thrashing England at Trent Bridge in the second one-day international on Tuesday afternoon.
Man-of-the-match Pietersen made it two wins out of two as England Test and ODI captain as he smashed an unbeaten 90 at Headingley Carnegie last Friday to help his team to a 1-0 lead in the five-game series.
The 20-run victory was the Proteas' first one-day defeat in 10 games - they are second in the world rankings behind Australia. And Kallis is determined to stop Pietersen's winning run.
The 32-year-old, who top scored for the tourists in Leeds with 52, said of Friday's defeat: "It was probably the worst one-day international we have played in two years.
"England certainly played well but we were more disappointed in our performance. We pride ourselves on our performance. The one we put in the other night was not up to scratch and we feel we are a lot better side than that.
"We've got to improve in all departments. England probably scored 25 runs too many and from a batting point of view we lost wickets at key moments.
"And certainly we weren't up to standard in the field. There is a lot of work to be done in all three departments.
"We've had a couple of days now to get out, practice and chat about it. Hopefully we can come out and turn the tables."
On Pietersen's 158-run partnership with Andrew Flintoff, who clobbered 78, Kallis added: "They played well - they are world class players and if you allow them to play like that then they can take the game away from you.
"So we have to make sure we bowl well and don't allow players like that to get in. Kevin has obviously started off well as England captain and it is not up to us to turn that around and put a halt to it."
Pietersen is able to call upon Durham all-rounder and former ODI skipper Paul Collingwood, who returns to the one-day setup after serving a suspension of four games for England's slow over rate against New Zealand in July.
The 32-year-old, who earlier this month relinquished his one-day captaincy on the same day that Michael Vaughan resigned as Test skipper, warned Pietersen that there will be darker days ahead.
Collingwood took over from Vaughan as ODI captain in June 2007, following England's poor showing in the World Cup, but stepped down on the grounds that he could not concentrate on his own game.
"I'm back in the ranks and now and very much looking forward to it," he said. "It's nice coming back into the ranks with the opportunity just to concentrate on your own job.
"I know that sounds selfish but I can be a leader in the ranks anyway by setting the example.
"We have had a good start to the series, going 1-0 up. But we will put our feet on the ground and hopefully put a similar performance in."
Collingwood also had advice for 28-year-old Pietersen, who currently boasts a Test batting average of 50 and ODI average of 49.
He added: "Kevin's had a fantastic start and already he has made some really good decisions.
"Hopefully England will go from strength to strength but he'll learn all the time. There will be difficult times ahead, but hopefully not for a while yet.
"I found the added responsibility of captaincy very draining. I was always thinking about decisions and game situations.
"It was taking my form away in Test cricket and that was the last thing I wanted. I had grown up as a little kid wanting to play Test cricket.
"But with the amount of energy that it was taking away from me, I had to make a decision with the captaincy. I didn't want to lose my Test spot. Now I feel a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
"We'll see how the captaincy affects KP's batting. It didn't seem to the other day and hopefully it will continue in that manner. He has done a great job so far."
Meanwhile, England have been hit by an injury blow after left-arm seam bowler Ryan Sidebottom was ruled out of the remainder of the one-day series due to troublesome hip and groin injuries.
South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis has vowed to wipe the grin off Kevin Pietersen's face by thrashing England at Trent Bridge in the second one-day international on Tuesday afternoon.
Man-of-the-match Pietersen made it two wins out of two as England Test and ODI captain as he smashed an unbeaten 90 at Headingley Carnegie last Friday to help his team to a 1-0 lead in the five-game series.
The 20-run victory was the Proteas' first one-day defeat in 10 games - they are second in the world rankings behind Australia. And Kallis is determined to stop Pietersen's winning run.
The 32-year-old, who top scored for the tourists in Leeds with 52, said of Friday's defeat: "It was probably the worst one-day international we have played in two years.
"England certainly played well but we were more disappointed in our performance. We pride ourselves on our performance. The one we put in the other night was not up to scratch and we feel we are a lot better side than that.
"We've got to improve in all departments. England probably scored 25 runs too many and from a batting point of view we lost wickets at key moments.
"And certainly we weren't up to standard in the field. There is a lot of work to be done in all three departments.
"We've had a couple of days now to get out, practice and chat about it. Hopefully we can come out and turn the tables."
On Pietersen's 158-run partnership with Andrew Flintoff, who clobbered 78, Kallis added: "They played well - they are world class players and if you allow them to play like that then they can take the game away from you.
"So we have to make sure we bowl well and don't allow players like that to get in. Kevin has obviously started off well as England captain and it is not up to us to turn that around and put a halt to it."
Pietersen is able to call upon Durham all-rounder and former ODI skipper Paul Collingwood, who returns to the one-day setup after serving a suspension of four games for England's slow over rate against New Zealand in July.
The 32-year-old, who earlier this month relinquished his one-day captaincy on the same day that Michael Vaughan resigned as Test skipper, warned Pietersen that there will be darker days ahead.
Collingwood took over from Vaughan as ODI captain in June 2007, following England's poor showing in the World Cup, but stepped down on the grounds that he could not concentrate on his own game.
"I'm back in the ranks and now and very much looking forward to it," he said. "It's nice coming back into the ranks with the opportunity just to concentrate on your own job.
"I know that sounds selfish but I can be a leader in the ranks anyway by setting the example.
"We have had a good start to the series, going 1-0 up. But we will put our feet on the ground and hopefully put a similar performance in."
Collingwood also had advice for 28-year-old Pietersen, who currently boasts a Test batting average of 50 and ODI average of 49.
He added: "Kevin's had a fantastic start and already he has made some really good decisions.
"Hopefully England will go from strength to strength but he'll learn all the time. There will be difficult times ahead, but hopefully not for a while yet.
"I found the added responsibility of captaincy very draining. I was always thinking about decisions and game situations.
"It was taking my form away in Test cricket and that was the last thing I wanted. I had grown up as a little kid wanting to play Test cricket.
"But with the amount of energy that it was taking away from me, I had to make a decision with the captaincy. I didn't want to lose my Test spot. Now I feel a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
"We'll see how the captaincy affects KP's batting. It didn't seem to the other day and hopefully it will continue in that manner. He has done a great job so far."
Meanwhile, England have been hit by an injury blow after left-arm seam bowler Ryan Sidebottom was ruled out of the remainder of the one-day series due to troublesome hip and groin injuries.
Labels: cricket, Jacques Kallis, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, South Africa
