Pietersen ready for bigger role

By Oliver Brett

Everyone feels comfortable around him and he's a great guy Pietersen on Collingwood

England's leading one-day player Kevin Pietersen is set to play a more elevated role when it comes to deciding team strategy in limited-overs cricket.

Paul Collingwood has been installed as captain for the two Twenty20 Internationals and three 50-over-a-side matches against West Indies.

But Pietersen told BBC Sport he would "definitely" help decide tactics.

"It's a bit more responsibility and something I'd like to be involved in. It's fantastic," he said.

Asked directly if he might be given a more senior role by coach Peter Moores, he said: "Most definitely... I do see that coming my way.

"It's something I do look forward to."

The 26-year-old Hampshire star said Collingwood, chosen as captain 24 hours after Pietersen had ruled himself out of the job, would "definitely" be a good captain.

"He's got a lot of experience, he's a good character and a nice guy to talk to," said Pietersen.

"Everyone feels comfortable around him and he's a great guy."

606: DEBATE It's good for KP to get more involved in strategy and tactics - if anything it could help him grow more as a player SC

In London to promote Kevin Pietersen Pro Cricket 2007, he also talked up the value of the two Twenty20 Internationals at the Brit Oval next Thursday and Friday.

The matches will form vital preparation for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup - to be played in the country of his birth, South Africa, in September.

"We want to do very well in these two matches," he said.

"We are targeting these two games to be successful in and build momentum.

"We know we need to build on our win percentages in most of our one-day cricket and we need to get ourselves going in different competitions.

"We've already done well in the Test arena, it's just about targeting different competitions like Twenty20 and one-day internationals. We need to start doing well in those."