Pietersen backs depleted England

England's injury crisis may be spreading from the winter into the start of the home season, but Kevin Pietersen is confident that the Ashes-winning team - which hasn't played together since that momentous day at The Oval on September 12 - will be reunited on the field in the future. Michael Vaughan, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison and Simon Jones all have injuries of varying seriousness, but Pietersen says they will be back.

"I'm sure it will happen, I'm just not sure when," he told reporters. "It is a worry but it gives opportunities to others and the guys who got a chance in India did really well. Owais [Shah] played well and Alastair Cook did well. They did fantastic jobs.

"Now it is just the case of trying to get that Ashes team back on the field. Come November 23 in Brisbane we have to make sure we have a full-strength team to take on the Aussies."

The Ashes verbals, or probably more correctly, banter, considering how well the two teams get along, is already in full swing. In a recent interview with The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Matthew Hayden claimed how England are carried by Andrew Flintoff while Shane Warne, Pietersen's team-mate at Hampshire, has not been shy at suggesting that England won't be comfortable coming to Australia with the Ashes to defend.

But Pietersen has never been one for listening to what other people say, whether it be barracking crowds in South Africa or confident Australians. He says the talk is nothing he didn't expect and thinks it will only increase as the winter approaches.

"I've heard that line about Freddie carrying the team before but you can name every player and they did a job for England in that series. It is probably the start of the banter they want to get going before the Ashes.

"We know the Australian guys are great guys and we're good mates with them, which means the series will be played in good spirits. We are just waiting for another Australian to make a comment now. It is all good banter adding to the build-up for what will be an amazing series."

And he was quick to get in a little jab of his own. "If it wasn't for Shane Warne in that Australia team then we would have won the Ashes 4-1. He probably had a bigger influence on Australia than Freddie did on England."

Pietersen was speaking at the launch of Urban Cricket, a new joint initiative between the ECB and npower, the sponsor of England's home Tests, aiming to distribute 60,000 cricket kits to youngsters around the UK. Pietersen - along with Charlotte Edwards, the England women's captain, and the chairman of selectors, David Graveney - launched the event at a Peckham housing estate in South East London, accompanied by break-dancers that put even Pietersen's quick feet to shame.

The slogan for Urban Cricket is that 'there are no rules', a philosophy that Pietersen sometimes looks like taking when he dispatches the world's best pacemen and spinners into the stands. His batting will be a vital cog in the England team this summer and he says he's eager to get started.

"Right here, right now, I'm as fit as I can be and raring to go. It's been fantastic playing for Hampshire again and I can't wait to get going with the internationals." With England's current injury catalogue mounting up that will be music to the selector's ears.