Pietersen: debut as captain

It is not about me tomorrow, it is not about me today, it is about England. It is about what we have got to do tomorrow, it is about tieing the series and turning things around from the last couple of games.

Kevin Pietersen
Quotes of the week

Watch the fifth ODI live on Sky Sports 1 or log on to skysports.com for live, interactive text commentary

Related links

Teams

• England
• New Zealand

Players

• Kevin Pietersen

Also see

• Play Fantasy Cricket
• Sky Sports experts
• Live scores

Kevin Pietersen will captain England for the first time in Saturday's NatWest Series clash with New Zealand hoping for once to avoid the spotlight.

The big-hitting batsman leads the team in the absence of the banned Paul Collingwood and the man known as 'Box Office' is already attracting plenty of media attention.

But he insists that Saturday's match at Lord's is all about the team - and all about claiming a victory that would earn a 2-2 draw in the series.

"I'm humbled by it," he told Sky Sports News. "I'm going to lead with passion and hopefully lead England to a very successful victory tomorrow.

"It hasn't really sunk in properly yet but it will when the crowd starts coming in tomorrow and you've got to go and toss the coin and do all those kinds of stuff. It is going to be a bit nerve-wracking but I think I have got to chill, relax, play like I play and just be the person that I am.

"But it is not about me tomorrow, it is not about me today, it is about England. It is about what we have got to do tomorrow, it is about tieing the series and turning things around from the last couple of games. A couple of games we could have won and we lost, so the most important thing is an England victory tomorrow.

Success

"Tomorrow is a huge game for us to make sure that the first part of the summer is a succes for us."

The South African-born Pietersen only made his England debut three years ago and admits he is still becoming accustomed to being named skipper of his adopted country.

"I have had a lot of messages of congratulation," he added. "Can you believe that a boy from the bush has come from wherever he has come from and made his way to captain England at Lord's? It is one of those where I pinch myself. It is another day where I can just go out there and enjoy myself and just try and take it all in."

Meanwhile, Pietersen added that while he does have long-term ambitions for the captaincy, for the moment he is happy to play under Collingwood in the one-day format and Michael Vaughan in Test cricket.

"It is a day for me tomorrow to enjoy, and hopefully get an England victory," he added. "But in terms of the future, we will wait and see. It is a long way off. It is about training today and winning tomorrow for England as a team."