England ace Kevin Pietersen is raring to go ahead of the tour to his native South Africa and says his spell on the sidelines injured has rejuvenated his love for the game.

The 29-year-old missed the final three Tests of the Ashes series this summer as he continued to struggle with an ankle and Achilles injury.

An ankle operation and period of recuperation away from the game has since ensured he is now almost fully fit again while it has also made him fall back in love with cricket once again.

His recovery from surgery suffered a setback when his ankle wound became infected and Pietersen was forced to miss the Champions Trophy one-day tournament in South Africa.

There were concerns the Hampshire man would not be able to play in the forthcoming tour of his native South Africa (England 7/2, South Africa 1/2, draw 7/2 in the Totesport outright Test markets), but it appears he is now raring to go ahead of the trip.

“This year has been one of the toughest of my career, with the captaincy debacle in January plus the injury,” he said.

“This break has refreshed my head and who knows how I’ll come back as a player? My Achilles won’t hamper me any more and I definitely feel fresh mentally.

“I’ll be starting off really enjoying myself – and this year I haven’t particularly enjoyed playing cricket because I was in pain and because of what happened in January. It’s been a tough thing for me.”

Pietersen added: “I believe everything happens for a reason and these three months have happened to refresh me and knowing that I was sort of falling out of love with the game, it was a symbol or a sign for me to refresh and recharge my batteries.”
Don’t miss your chance to get involved in all of Totesport.com’s cricket betting opportunities.