Shane Warne backs Kevin Pietersen, calls him a match-winner

“Kevin Pietersen is a match winner,” says Shane Warne.

Ahead of their one-day clash against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), skipper of the Rest of the World (RoW) side Shane Warne has backed team-mate Kevin Pietersen to prove his critics wrong.

Talking to reporters in a press conference, the former Australian International was quoted by Sky Sports as saying, "KP is an absolute match-winner. He is a superstar and a wonderful player. He is fantastic to watch, I'm sure he will turn it on on Saturday and smash it all over the park.”

“He has played well over the years at Lord's in his time with England and hopefully he can do that on Saturday. With the guys we have in the side they are pretty special and we all have egos but we will all be keen to impress and to show what they have got with the bat or the ball,” he continued.

The 50-over exhibition match between the MCC and the RoW XI is being played to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lord’s Cricket Ground, with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan locking horns with one another.

"I'm sure one or two players in the Rest of the World side will be keen to get out there and score a lot of runs. It will be pretty relaxed, everyone knows everyone. We want to win, Sachin's team wants to win so we will enjoy the game," he concluded.

When asked, as reported by the Guardian, Pietersen expressed his desire to represent England again saying, “I don’t think it might happen but I live in hope every day, I am only 34, I am still young, I can still play. I got a good résumé.”

He said, “If things change one day then I will gladly take the opportunity because I love playing for England. If I didn’t love it I would have retired and I absolutely haven’t retired,” he said. “I have a phone in my pocket and it’s a case of hoping it rings one day. I never lost interest or energy playing for England.”

“I love playing for England, every single day I wanted to improve, I had ambitions, I had goals, both personal goals and team goals – they are still there,” he further added.