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Pietersen targets Windies humiliation

Twenty20 RSS / / 24 June 2007 /

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Kevin Pietersen has targeted a crushing defeat of West Indies in the upcoming one-day series to herald in a new era for England's one-day side.

Paul Collingwood has succeeded Michael Vaughan as skipper in the shorter version of the game but he takes over a side that is ranked seventh in the world following an abysmal World Cup campaign.

The Windies are the only major nation behind England in the ICC standings and have just suffered a 3-0 reverse in the four-match Test series.

And Pietersen, currently ranked as the world's best one-day batsman, wants England to build on their performances in the five-day game to re-establish the side as a leading force in one-day cricket.

"We have got to get rid of the fear of failure we have carried with us," Pietersen said.

"Twenty20s and one-day internationals are a different mind-set but winning becomes a habit. We weren't shown any sympathy by the Aussies last winter and we won't show any this week.

"I am driven on by success and entertainment, performing in front of thousands out in the middle and millions on television, and by England winning.

"I was proper hurt by what happened in Australia. Being humiliated is hard but it is something I want to do from now on - to humiliate opposition like we did to the West Indies.

"The most important fixture in that Test series was the last one. We could have settled for 2-0 and thought 'it's raining, we have two wins in the bag, we can settle for a draw'.

"But we were relentless. We wanted to win the Test series 3-0. We wanted to crush them and crush them we did. That is how we want to play our cricket."

England play the Caribbean outfit in two Twenty20 games, the first on Thursday, and three ODIs before India arrive for their Test series, beginning on July 19.

Collingwood's men are strong favourites at 1.55 to win the opening 20-over thrash at the Brit Oval, with the tourists, under new skipper Chris Gayle, available at 2.7.

The home side are also fancied at 2.12 to complete a Twenty20 series victory, with the draw next best at 2.26 and the Windies on offer at 6.2.

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