Pietersen spotted training at Lord's with the England team

Kevin Pietersen was with the England ODI team at Lord’s. He was back in training for England, but will not play the ODI series against New Zealand. He was jogging in the ground, and was practicing to return to the national squad. England captain Alastair Cook was happy to have Pietersen in the training session.

“It’s great news for England,” Cook said. “He’s practising first of all and it’s encouraging that he’s progressing well from that injury.” Pietersen’s grin was testament to the truth of Daniel Vettori’s view that “the grind of cricket is the hardest bit. It’s when you’re away from the game that you start to appreciate how much you enjoy being a part of it.” Vettori is expecting to take his place in the New Zealand team for the first time since the World T20 tournament last September, when he suffered a recurrence of an achilles injury. “I actually feel pretty rejuvenated for having had the break.”

England have a hectic schedule as they play a three match One-Day Series against New Zealand. After the ODI Series, they will play a Twenty20 match and will play Australia at Edgbaston in opening game of the Champions Trophy.

“It is the quickest turnaround I can remember in my career. It is something I and my team-mates are used to from county cricket, where one-day matches often follow four-day games. The secret is making sure you are switched on to the challenge of one-day cricket, and making sure you have got your game plan in order for the change of format” said Cook.

Alastair Cook also said that a couple of players were suffering from injuries. “We’re just going to wait and see what happens over the next 24 hours,” he said.

England fast bowler Tim Bresnan is expected to miss the One-Day series against New Zealand as he had to take care of his wife. Dernbach is likely to replace Tim Bresnan for the series against New Zealand.

Alastair Cook also confirmed that they will not be taking the ODI series lightly against the Black Caps. “There will be times this week when we are planning for the Champions Trophy,” he said. “But it is very important as a side that we are looking at this series in isolation to try and win this series. They’re not warm-up matches. We have to try and win as many games as we can.”