Captain Harry Brook says leaning on a mentor of Kevin Pietersen's calibre will only help the continued upward trajectory of England's white-ball sides. Pietersen, regarded as one of the greatest batters of the 21st century, has been brought into the England white-ball set-up in a mentoring role by head coach Brendon McCullum in the build-up to next year's 50-over World Cup. Brook shed light on the impact Pietersen was already having on the squad, both on and off the field, with the team's approach to playing spin already addressed in a masterclass from the former England captain.
"KP has been very good," Brook told a press conference. "He's enjoying the role, he's enjoying himself. "He's been good to have around, little chats here and there.
Away from the game, sat having a coffee and a chat about how he sees the game and how he thinks it should be played. "He was a hero to many of us growing up, so it's good to have a man of his calibre in our side." On the masterclass, Brook added: "A lot of it was about picking the length of spin. That is key to facing spin and being able to rotate strike as well as possible.
"In ODI cricket that's an area we probably need to improve as a side. It can make a massive difference to winning games of cricket. "He [Pietersen] was a hell of a player against spin, alongside [Joe] Root and [Marcus] Trescothick.
They were very good players at playing spin, so it's about picking their brains and asking them what worked for them and putting that into your game." England, fresh from a 3-0 series sweep over Sri Lanka that lifted them to the top of the T20 world rankings, face Sri Lanka again in their first ODI since teaming up with Pietersen. The three-match series starts in Durham on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports, and Brook has challenged England to maintain their momentum. "We can take a hell of a lot of confidence from being unbeaten in the T20s," Brook said.
"Going into this ODI series we want more of the same. We're trying to play a higher-octane style of cricket and put them [the opposition] under pressure with bat and ball. "We want to be one of the fittest sides in the world.
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