Pietersen delays Ashes departure as Cook targets more runs

Alastair Cook knows he, Joe Root and Jonathan Trott must score more runs this winter if England are to create history by winning the Ashes for a fourth successive time.
Kevin PietersenKevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen

Captain Cook and his England team-mates jetted out to Australia last night – minus Kevin Pietersen who has delayed his departure due to bereavement – with memories of their recent 3-0 series win still fresh in their minds.

England beat the visitors 3-0 at home this summer, but they failed to pass 400 once. The hosts mainly relied on Ian Bell for big scores. Root was the only batsman in the top three to make a century while Cook and Trott posted poor averages in comparison to their usual high standards.

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The last time England managed to win four series in a row against the Australians came in 1890, and Cook concedes his team must build big scores to achieve that feat.

“I think 3-0 was a pretty good result, I would love to do that again, but clearly top order runs out in Australia are vitally important,” Cook told a press conference at Heathrow Airport just prior to their departure.

“We saw that was the case last time we went there. We saw how big runs made a massive difference and set the game up.

“Sometimes in England 240 or 250 can be good scores with the overhead conditions, but the majority of the time, 400 in Australia is the bare minimum.

“It is the job of the top order to make sure we do that.”

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Cook sneaked past 50 on two occasions this summer, but failed to make a ton and ended up scoring 277 runs at an average of 27.7. The England captain admits that was not good enough.

Cook does gain some comfort in the fact that he tore Australia apart the last time England went Down Under, when he scored 766 runs at an average of 127.

“I had a good tour last time and it would be great to repeat some of those feats there,” the Essex opener said. “I didn’t execute as well as I could have done this summer. Sometimes that happens.

“I enjoy batting in (Australian) conditions, the ball can be flying past your ears quite a lot, so it’s a great test of your skill in how to play fast bowling.

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“If you get through the first 10 or 15 overs, normally it’s fantastic to bat on.”

Pietersen will not join up with England until Sunday. It is understood that the batsman has been given the dispensation following the death of a friend.

The 33-year-old is expected to be available for England’s first warm-up game against Western Australia at Perth, which begins next Thursday.

England reached the Tri-Nation Twenty20 Women’s Series final as a hat-trick from Natalie Sciver and five wickets from Jenny Gunn sealed a 19-run win over New Zealand in Barbados.

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The White Ferns were dismissed for 106 in Bridgetown by England, who will contest Saturday’s final against hosts West Indies. England will also play the West Indies in Thursday’s final round-robin match.