Axed England batsman Kevin Pietersen to forget 'rubbish cricket' post recovery from knee injury

Sacked England batsman Kevin Pietersen has claimed that the 'rubbish cricket' he played while at the mercy of knee injections is behind him now.

Pietersen plays for first class Australian team Melbourne Stars, who are heading for a home semifinal in the Big Bash League. His unbeaten knock of 67 against Sydney Thunder, his highest score since last summer's Boxing Day Test, pushed him to the top of the BBL runs list with 262 from six innings, News.com.au reported.

Also Read: Sacked England batsman Kevin Pietersen 'darling' of Australian Big Bash League crowds

However, while world cricket's number one gun-for-hire is miles from reconciling with England, former teammate Andrew Flintoff has backed Pietersen and the Stars to lift the BBL trophy in Canberra next week. Pietersen revealed that his knee condition, remedied since joining the Stars, had him in around-the-clock pain and unable to duck for bouncers as his international career disintegrated.

The sacked England batsman claimed that for the last 18 months living on injections and knee issues he has been searching, adding that he got himself into 'bad habits', and claimed that he was playing 'rubbish cricket'.

Pietersen insisted that when he played there for England, last year in the Ashes, he was 'nowhere'. He added that he was having injections in his knee, was flying into Melbourne and getting jabbed in his knee, claiming that he had a 'horrendous time'.