Let England Keep Fighting Over Kevin Pietersen, Australia Not Bothered: Darren Lehmann
Australia coach Darren Lehmann said his players were keeping a fair distance from the tussle that the England & Wales Cricket Board and Kevin Pietersen are currently indulging in. 'Let England Keep Fighting Over Pietersen, Australia Not Bothered
Former Australian allrounder and current head coach Darren Lehmann said he and his players cannot worry about the ongoing turmoil in the English camp after mercurial player Kevin Pietersen released his explosive book, KP: The Autobiography last week, making startling claims and allegations against the board.
"We can't worry about what's going on over there. We had a great result against them last summer but it could be totally different next time. From my point of view, I stay well away from all that. They can keep fighting over there, that's fine by me," Lehmann said while addressing the media, as reported by www.cricket.au.
Pietersen, in his 104-Test career, has been the biggest thorn in Australia's way. Since making his debut against England's arch-rivals in the 2005 Ashes at home, the South Africa-born batsman has never shied away from battles against Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee, three of the greatest bowlers to have ever played the game. In 27 Tests against Australia, Pietersen smashed 2158 runs at an average of 44.95, with a best of 227. Little wonder then that Lehmann, who has been tasked with stretching Australia's dominance in world cricket, would want a batsman of KP's capabilities out of the 'enemy's' reach. (KP Book has Tarnished England's Image: Cook)
Talking about the clean sweep in the ODI series against Pakistan in Dubai, Lehmann expressed his delight with the way the team fought through tough conditions.
"Happy how we fought through conditions and got results that we wanted. It was a great learning curve. We know the wickets are going to be different in February [during the World Cup], they're going to be pretty good wickets but when it's slower you've got to adapt and we that pretty well in the three games."
Lehmann, meanwhile played down injury concerns around Michael Clarke. The skipper himself said he was not 100 percent fit yet but his coach remained optimistic and said he would take a call after Clarke has played a three-day tour game starting October 15 against Pakistan A.
"Clarke will be fine. He'll play the tour game. We will assess David Warner in the next couple of days. If he's not right for the tour game, he won't play,"
Australia play a two-match Test series against Pakistan on October 22 and Clarke's fitness will be crucial for the visitors in extremely difficult conditions.