Bollinger to let Pietersen's ego prove his undoing

Sydney:

Fit-again Australian paceman Doug Bollinger said Friday he intends keeping quiet and letting key England batsman Kevin Pietersen's ego get him out in next month's Ashes series.

Left-armer Bollinger, who has recovered from a stomach muscle strain, has a reputation of sledging batsmen but has his own plans to counter the dynamic hitting of Pietersen should he be selected to share the new ball.

He intends clamming up when bowling to Pietersen as he believes his sledging will only fire up the aggressive middle-order batsman.

"I don't think I will say much to Kevin Pietersen because I think that's what he likes," Bollinger told reporters.

"I think I might put him off his game by not saying anything and let his ego get him out."

But Bollinger admitted he wouldn't be reticent in letting England's other batsmen know his feelings in the heat of an Ashes battle.

"I tend to say a lot of things when I get angry and get a bit upset and a bit hot and flustered, but we're playing for the Ashes," Bollinger said.

"It's a massive thing. It's something I've always wanted to be part of my whole life and I'm sure it is for everyone else."

"So if one of the guys gets into a contest I'm going to be right behind them as a team should be."

Bollinger said he was over the stomach strain that forced him out of the second Test in India this month and was planning on a return to cricket in a fortnight.

He has pencilled in a Sydney club game on November 13 followed by a Sheffield Shield match for New South Wales four days later in the hope of proving his fitness for selection in the first Ashes Test starting in Brisbane on November 25.

"I'm 100 percent, I feel really good, I'm getting back into everything, so I'm going to be fine come November 25," Bollinger said.

While Bollinger has yet to play a Test against England, he has taken 47 wickets in 10 Tests over the last 11 months and has an overall record of 49 victims at an average of 23.79.