LONDON - England team director Andy Flower said on Wednesday that he was "thinking optimistically" about star batsman Kevin Pietersen's chances of returning to fitness in time for the Ashes series against Australia. A knee injury has kept Pietersen out of action since March, forcing him to miss the current series at home to New Zealand, the Indian Premier League, and next month's Champions Trophy.
He hopes to be available for the Ashes series, which starts at Trent Bridge on July 10, and posted pictures of himself batting on Twitter earlier this week, much to Flower's delight. "We are thinking optimistically about Kevin's injury improving and it's nice that he's pain free. That is great news for him and for us," said Flower.
"Kevin's a really special player and we want him back as soon as he's fit enough to be back. That (seeing him bat) is good news for us and hopefully his improvement graph will carry on in the same way." Pietersen's absence has allowed Yorkshire pair Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow to stake their claims for long-term involvement in the England set-up.
Both players impressed on their home ground in England's 247-run win over New Zealand at Headingley this week, with Root claiming a maiden Test century and Bairstow finishing unbeaten on 64 and 26. "Joe has played outstandingly well in all three forms of the game since he's been given the chance to play international cricket and he's handled it really well, which is testament to his character and his skill," said Flower.
"It was also really nice to see how the Yorkshire public responded to his success; they really shared his excitement and his pride and his passion. That was evident to see when he did manage to get to 100. It was nice to see Jonny celebrate Joe's success as he did and be genuinely pleased for him, and it was also nice to see Jonny do well in this Test match in both innings too."
Pietersen's return would necessitate a reshuffle of England's batting order, but Flower was reluctant to discuss the suggestion that Root could be moved up the order at the expense of Nick Compton. "None of us can foretell the future," he said. "It's been a great series for Joe and it was nice that he got the man of the series too, but we don't know what's going to happen in the future, none of us do. We'll see how things pan out."
Vaughan questions England's tactics
Former England captain Michael Vaughan questioned the team's approach despite their commanding second Test victory over New Zealand at Headingley. England dodged the showers to take the four wickets they needed on Tuesday's final day as they wrapped up both a 247-run win and a 2-0 series whitewash.
Vaughan said England had been a "bit safe and fearful" after current captain Alastair Cook opted against enforcing the follow-on. England batted on until after lunch on Monday before setting New Zealand, who had suffered back-to-back collapses, a target of 468 -- 50 more than had ever been made to win in the fourth innings of a Test.
"If they're honest, and they should be, they will look at where they could improve tactically. With strategic aggression they could have won this game already," Vaughan, who backed Cook's decision to bat again, told BBC Radio. "I think batting again was a good decision but they could have been a bit more proactive (in the field)," he said. "Everyone should have been catching: try to force the batsman into an error. I just thought it was a bit safe.
"It would worry me if they don't sit in the dressing room and accept they've played it a bit too safe and been a bit fearful," added Vaughan. "They didn't get it right and you've got to be honest as players." Graeme Swann took 10 wickets in the match but Vaughan felt the England off-spinner did not have sufficiently attacking fields given the hosts' runs on the board. "There wasn't many occasions where Swann had four men around the bat. That's why you bat so long, to allow yourself periods with men around the bat."
However, Nasser Hussain, Vaughan's predecessor as England captain, had more sympathy for Cook and England coach Andy Flower. "When it's your team you don't press G for gamble," Hussain said. "Flower, (Andrew) Strauss (England's most recent ex-captain) and Cook, they've been successful by first being cautious, is there any surprise at what's happened in this Test match?"
Had rain denied England victory, Cook's seemingly excessive caution would have come under greater scrutiny. But the 28-year-old opener, who at Headingley became the first England batsman to score 25 Test hundreds courtesy of a second innings 130, had no trouble justifying his approach after New Zealand were bowled out for 220, with the final four wickets falling inside 22 overs.
"I think the result vindicates the decisions. There is no doubt about that at all," Cook said. "You are judged as a captain on results. In this game we have won by 250 runs. We were 1-0 up in the series and we did not want to give them a sniff in the series because wins don't come round very easily or very often."