Pietersen: Don’t count us out

England slumped to a 239-run defeat in the much-hyped Ashes opener at Lord’s but Pietersen, who made his debut in that match, is ready to lead the fightback.

Pietersen was one of England’s few stars at Lord’s, scoring a half-century in both innings, even though he did drop three catches.

Writing in his column in the Daily Mail, Pietersen said, "I fully expect us to give a good account of ourselves in Birmingham and, based on the recent record of this England team, it would be foolish of anyone to write us off.

"There is still a long way to go and we have taken quite a few positives, such as Steve Harmison’s fantastic bowling, out of the Lord’s game." Pietersen was pleased with his batting performance but admits he is at a loss to explain his fielding errors.

He added, "I always said I would try to seize the moment, although that was reflected more in my batting than my fielding.

"There are times when you have to remind yourself that playing cricket is always better than doing an ordinary job sat behind a computer screen and that was the case when those catches went down.

"It is a mystery to me why it happened as I am usually a good catcher and practise my fielding skills very hard — I always ask for extra catches as part of my routine."

Duncan Fletcher, meanwhile, is backing Pietersen to lift the England dressing room and restore self-confidence prior to their next meeting with the Aussies.

Fletcher, the England coach, has ordered the squad to take a week away from the intense pressure.