KP - There's no pressure

Skipper believes Caribbean lifestyle helping team relax

Last updated: 1st November 2008  

KP - There's no pressure

Pietersen: Relaxed

At the moment, in terms of pressure, I don't actually feel anything; I try my hardest not to in big circumstances and I have my ways and means of getting rid of it.

Kevin Pietersen
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England captain Kevin Pietersen insists he is not feeling the pressure ahead of his side's $20 million showdown with the Stanford Superstars.

The 20-over match on Saturday is worth a massive $1 million-a-man pay-day to the winning team.

But Pietersen insists the prospect of a life-changing amount of cash is not playing on his mind ahead of the game, which will be shown live on Sky Sports 1 at 8.30pm.

Instead he believes the lifestyle in the Caribbean is helping take the pressure off the team.

The skipper said: "When you get back from training you have lunch and jump in the pool.

"The boys go out on a catamaran or swim in the sea, you don't drive past 20 corner shops on the way home and see the Evening Standard or the Sun with a huge headline, or the Mirror or the Mail.

Big circumstances

"At the moment, in terms of pressure, I don't actually feel anything; I try my hardest not to in big circumstances and I have my ways and means of getting rid of it."

The effectiveness of the slow bowlers on the Coolidge surface earlier in the week meant England dropped paceman James Anderson in favour of Graeme Swann as a second spinner in the match.

The decision could cost Anderson a cool $750,000 as he will now share a pool of $1 million as one of four squad members if England are successful.

Pietersen, who admitted leaving out Anderson was a hard decision, is keen to concentrate on the cricket after all the talk of cash and controversy this week.

"We've been given the privilege of coming here and having the opportunity to win some cash, and to play for England, which is the number one," added Pietersen.

"We have been put in this position and there is nothing we can do about it.

"Other people delve into the depths of why we are here but us players are not the ones who flew us here.

"We have got to make the best of what we have got and just concentrate on doing what we do and that is play cricket."