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| October 30, 2006 | Monday | Shawwal 6, 1427 |
Flintoff hails Pietersen’s effort
AHMEDABAD, Oct 29: Andrew Flintoff lauded Kevin Pietersen for steering England to victory over holders West Indies in Saturday's Champions Trophy Group ‘A’ match.
“When Kevin went in, we had a bit of a wobble. We lost two quick wickets, myself and Paul Collingwood, and Kevin steadied the ship,” the England captain told reporters after his side's three-wicket victory.
Pietersen's undefeated 90 helped England chase down a difficult target under lights with nine balls to spare to record their first win of the tournament.
“We were playing the form side. We went out there, we started well and then you know what Kevin (Pietersen) did at the end. We wanted someone to take responsibility and win a game for us and Kevin did that with class,” Flintoff said.
England had already been eliminated after losing their first two matches while the West Indies were assured of a semi-final place after defeating Australia and India.
“His class came through,” added Flintoff. “He paced the innings fantastically well.
“He played as we know he can play. He is a fine, fine player and if he carries on playing like that, obviously the team is going to be stronger.”
West Indies reached 272 for four with Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo scoring centuries.
Captain Brian Lara said conceding too many runs in the early overs cost his team the match.
Openers Andrew Strauss (50) and Ian Bell (50) gave England a flying start, racing to 82 for nought by the 12th over.
“In the first 15 overs, the way we bowled allowed England to score too many runs. They were scoring at more than a run-a-ball in a period where many wickets have been taken in this tournament,” said Lara.
“If you have to have a hiccup this is a good time to have it. We're going to move on very positively. Even if we won today, it's a do-or-die situation in the next game so we know what we have to do.”
Meanwhile, England gained another boost by giving Flintoff his first international bowl since June.
The 28-year-old all rounder looked comfortable as he produced five overs in two spells, returning figures of nought for 27 in a timely bowling appearance ahead of England's Ashes defence in Australia.
Flintoff, who underwent surgery after suffering an ankle injury in June, had not bowled since the home Test series against Sri Lanka.
“I was not at full tilt, I was at 80 or 85 percent, but I was pleased with it,” Flintoff said.
“I was confident it would be fine. I had bowled in the nets and it has been fine all trip so I was not surprised.
“But in some ways it is a little bit of a relief as well that I have bowled in a game.”
Flintoff was England's most successful bowler when he claimed 24 wickets in last year's 2-1 Ashes victory that ended 18 years of Australian domination in the series. The Lancastrian also scored 402 runs in the five Tests.
His bowling will be important in Australia especially as the tourists are without the injured Simon Jones, another bowling hero of the 2005 Ashes.
The first Test in Brisbane begins on Nov 23.—Reuters
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