KP says not yet given up hope of Test recall

Ousted England batsman Kevin Pietersen has said that he has not given up hope of a return to Test cricket and the chance to avenge the humiliating 5-0 whitewash against Australia in the last Ashes series.

The South African-born England star was sacked by England in the wake of the last Ashes tour and made reconciliation unlikely by releasing a book in October which contained attacks on England's national cricket board and several of his former teammates.

However, Pietersen, who is in Australia to play for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash Twenty20 league, said that he foresaw a lot of changes in the England set-up over the next six months, which could just offer him a route back to Test cricket, The Dawn reported.

Pietersen said that he has 8,300 runs, adding that he would love to get 10,000 Test runs. He claimed that he would love to beat Australia again, admitting that last time, England got hammered, which doesn't sit well.

He claimed that he is not a player who likes being hammered, adding that he is a player who plays to win.

Pietersen's final Test was the 281-run defeat in Sydney in January and he has largely been restricted to playing Twenty20 matches since then.

Pietersen claimed that having not played Test cricket since January, his body has felt a hell of a lot better. He added that he is feeling good, and ready to go.