Pietersen thrilled by Ashes talent pool

Kevin Pietersen is confident that England's Ashes hopes hinge not just on stars like himself and Andrew Flintoff following the emergence of several strong new players. Neither Pietersen nor Flintoff was available for the recent one-day series against West Indies, which England won convincingly, and Pietersen believes the same balance will be present in the Ashes squad.

"England are not relying on one or two players," Pietersen said. "If you look at Australia during their good times, if [Matthew] Hayden didn't perform, [Adam] Gilchrist did, and the best thing about what's happening now is that if I fail like I did when I got a first-baller at Lord's, we still got a decent total."

Ravi Bopara has been a revelation in England's top order this year, having scored centuries in all three of his Tests against West Indies. Pietersen said it was fantastic to have an in-form Bopara in the squad ahead of the Ashes.

"I've actually been quite annoyed when people have said the likes of Ravi are my rivals to counter the Australians," he said. "I am with Ravi all day every day, I love the bloke, his confidence, the way he plays without fear, the way he talks about things and the way he doesn't worry.

"I love his approach and it's something a lot of the players can learn from. [Stuart] Broad has been exceptional, Matty Prior is somebody who has improved so much as well and James Anderson produced a brilliant display at Durham the other day."

Pietersen's lead-in to the Ashes includes the ICC World Twenty20 and he said his fitness was not in doubt for the event despite his recent Achilles tendon injury. Pietersen will be keen to rectify his Twenty20 reputation - he said during the 2007 tournament he had played silly shots for a silly game - and he has no doubt of the importance of the event these days.

"We are playing here to win a World Cup," he said. "We have never won a world tournament so this is of the utmost importance. But I think a lot of us are behind the Indian players and the South Africans because we haven't played as much."