Kevin Pietersen, the popular England cricket captain, has urged his players to show sensitivity during the Stanford Super Series in Antigua next week. Each player in the England side is set to earn over £500,000 if they manage to overcome a Stanford Superstars side.

However, despite the excitement of this potential monetary reward, Pietersen has warned his players not to celebrate too much given the current global financial crisis, stating that he will be extremely angry if anyone behaves in an inappropriate manner.

During a press conference, the England captain revealed that he has friends who are “really struggling” at the moment as a result of lost jobs. He continued to confirm that he will give a generous percentage of any winnings to charity and spoke of his regret at the timing of the game.

Despite previous comments from Alastair Cook about the financial importance of the match, Kevin Pietersen believes that patriotism is a major motivating factor for both himself and his players.

He also revealed that the match will be fantastic practice prior to the upcoming series in India. Pietersen spoke at length about this upcoming series and, in particular, about the changes in training that will be implemented.

He believes that England coach, Peter Moores, has learnt a lot since his first winter tour and that the training schedule imposed upon the team would not be as tough as it was previously.

In another comment that completely contradicts Alastair Cook’s beliefs, Pietersen revealed that the match would be as “highly-pressured” as competing against Australia on the opening day of an Ashes Test.

In contrast, Cook refused to compare the match to the Ashes, stating that such a comparison would be nothing short of ridiculous.

Written by Charlotte Cook