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England’s Kevin Pietersen will return home to focus on getting fit for the World Cup after a cracked right rib brought a premature end to his Australian tour.

The 26-year-old suffered the injury when struck on the ribcage by a Glenn McGrath delivery as he top-scored with 82 in England’s defeat in the opening match of the triangular series at the MCG here on Friday.

He was adopting the tactic of advancing at McGrath, a ploy he also used during the Test series, when he was hit. Although he continued to bat after the blow, he didn’t look comfortable and was dismissed a short time later.

Pietersen is returning to England and his recovery time is expected to be at least 3-5 weeks.

With the World Cup just eight weeks away, it is an untimely injury for Pietersen, but he expects to be fit for the Caribbean tournament.

“I’ll be getting myself as fit as I can,” he said after Friday’s game. “I’ve never played in the World Cup before so I’ll be in the Caribbean if selected. I’ll just have to bide my time but I’m a pretty quick healer, so I’ll get myself as fit as I can as quick as I can and I’ll be champing at the bit to get out to the Caribbean,” he added.

Pietersen, who averages more than 50 with the bat in One-day Internationals (ODIs) in the struggling English limited-overs side, said he knew he was in trouble as soon as the delivery struck him.

Pietersen was dismayed at having to leave his teammates without having enjoyed a win since arriving in Australia in early November.

Source:The News

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