Monday 16 January 2012

Spot-fixing saga will not affect England


England stars Kevin Pietersen and James Anderson have said the team will concentrate on cricket and not allow past controversies with Pakistan to boil over into the upcoming Test series in Dubai.
England's Kevin Pietersen - 0
Three former Pakistan players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammed Aamir - were jailed recently over spot-fixing in the Lord's Test in England in 2010.
Batsman Pietersen (pictured) said there have been team meetings on the subject.
"Our guys have had long chats about this, and I don't think it is going to be a problem with us whatsoever," he said.
"We are here to play cricket. We want to win the games of cricket, and I don't think it is going to be an issue at all."
Pace bowler Anderson agreed, but vowed there would be no let-up in his natural aggression.
"I'll go into the game just the same as I would any other game. Anything that's gone on in the past is in the past," he said.
"[But] I'll continue to play the game the way I play it. If that means occasionally getting in the batsmen's faces I'll do that.
"From a seamer's point of view, you can't lose any of your aggression. We're going to use any aggression we have to try to make an impression on the Pakistani batsmen.
"Generally we try to let the ball do the talking. But occasionally the verbals do go on."
The three-Test series, with Pakistan technically at home - but unable to play in their country due to safety concerns - begins on Tuesday.

No comments:

Post a Comment