Pietersen misses net session

Pietersen misses net session

Cricinfo staff

August 7, 2007

Kevin Pietersen missed England's practice session today at The Oval because of illness, two days ahead of the third Test against India. England are trailing 0-1 in the three-match series and must win in order to maintain their unbeaten record at home since 2001.

Pietersen remained in the team hotel while the rest of the players left for a net session. An England spokesman was unable to confirm the nature of his illness, saying only that he was on antibiotics after suffering from "a high temperature" and that his condition would be reassessed in the morning. Pietersen has not missed a Test since making his debut against Australia at Lord's in 2005 and no-one has been placed on standby for him yet.

Pietersen is England's second-highest run scorer in the series with 203 runs at an average of 50.75. He won the Man-of-the-Match award for his 134 in the second innings at Lord's which gave England the upper hand in a drawn Test. At Trent Bridge, Pietersen was the fielder at whom Zaheer Khan waved his bat angrily during the jelly bean controversy. He was dismissed lbw by RP Singh for 13 in the first innings and 19 in the second, a short while after he evaded a head-high beamer from Sreesanth.

In Pietersen's absence, England's penultimate practice session involved just 10 players, because the reserve seamer, Stuart Broad, had been released to play for Leicestershire in a Pro40 match at Derby.

Cricinfo