Kevin Pietersen Gives His Take on Ashes

Kevin Pietersen, reveals the secrets that helped them to beat Australia in England's 2010/2011 Ashes series away from their home.

Kevin has been a vital member of the only England team to win the Ashes in Australia since the year 1987. He scored a total of 360 runs at an average of 60 in the series of 2010/2011 and also took a precious and important wicket Michael Clarke at Adelaide.

He tells the importance of the first test match and scoring big runs. He also tells us how to keep the Australian crowd quiet and the importance of understanding the series.

"At the end of your career you realise how important Ashes are because you are judged on the basis of your performance in the Ashes. It's a thing where the public, the media, the fans all get involved in and it's a great pleasure to say that we beat Australia in Australia. It's like a feather in the cap!" says Kevin.

"Once you get a really good start, the fans and the public automatically start to question the Australian side. Our team set our momentum when we got the draw in Brisbane and took them apart in Adelaide. It's important to make sure that the first test match doesn't go pear shaped." Kevin said.

"It's important to score a lot of runs in Australia. You need to make sure you keep the bowlers out there again and again. I got plenty of runs, Bell got plenty of them too. Cook scored 700 runs! Trott and Strauss got a good amount of runs too. The key to success is that if you're gonna fail, your buddy is going to turn up and handle it."

He even says that the England team must have a spinner and a strike bowler that takes wickets. "It's about having the key personnel delivering when you need it to deliver. Anderson was as good as anyone at that stage with his reverse swing and control. We obviously had bowlers to back him up and we all are aware of how good Graeme Swann was on his own day!"

"In the 2006/07 series we scored 550 runs and I still remember that we lost that test match. Make sure you keep the momentum down and keep the people focused the entire time. It is the key to winning in Australia." He says the Australians have got the spirit, the fight and the determination. If you give them even a slight bit of a chance, they will get you.

Articles under 'Fortune India Exchange' are either advertorials or advertisements. Fortune India's edit team or journalists are not involved in writing or producing these pieces.