England hoping Pietersen's experience will aid World Cup tilt

England believe the re-introduction of ICC Hall of Famer and former star batter Kevin Pietersen back into their white-ball setup could prove the missing link as they aim to win a second ICC Men's Cricket World Cup title next year.

Earlier this month England announced that Pietersen had joined their limited-overs setup as a specialist mentor until the 2027 edition of the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, with his main focus to help the side add to their sole title success on home soil in 2019.

Pietersen joined up with England's squad in Southampton ahead of the side's upcoming series with Sri Lanka and white-ball coach Brendon McCullum said the former great had already made a massive impact on the playing group.

"The energy he (Pietersen) has brought to the group already has been immense and you know I feel very privileged for us to be able to have him as a resource within our dressing room," McCullum told BBC.

"He was obviously a brilliant cricketer. He viewed the game quite differently. He was a winner and he was a guy who left no stone unturned when it came to his preparation.

"A lot of these guys grew up watching Kev play and idolised him.

"As a coach, you're trying to provide these guys with the best environment so that they can try and achieve what they want. Adding Kev is certainly that."

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England have a rich history at the 50-over World Cup, with the side having finished as runners up on three occasions (1979, 1987 and 1992), alongside a pair of semi-final appearances in 1975 and 1983 and a sole title back in 2019 in a memorable final against England.

The side struggled to make much of an impact at the most recent World Cup in India in 2023 where they failed to reach the knockout stages and one of Pietersen's main aims will be to help England's batters adjust to the conditions they will face in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia throughout the tournament.

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Pietersen was of course born in South Africa before moving to England as a 20-year-old, where he went on to make 277 appearances for his adopted country across all formats that was highlighted by a whopping 25 Test centuries and another nine hundreds in 50-over cricket.

Since retiring from international cricket in 2014 Pietersen has featured as a commentator around the world and has made a name for himself as one of the most honest pundits in the game, even calling out England's players on occasions for not reaching the standards he expected at the top level.

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McCullum wants Pietersen to continue to push the boundaries and challenge both himself and the playing group as they thrive to improve and do everything they can to achieve that second World Cup title they so desperately want next year.

"That (Pietersen's comments on England's players) was one of the first things we talked about," McCullum said.

"He said 'gee, I was just criticising you not long ago'.

"I said I don't care about that. Some of it's fair and some of it would need some explanation, but I have no problem with that.

"It's healthy when you create an environment where you're able to challenge.

"That's one thing I want him to do. It's not just bury himself in the batting per se, but look across the entire environment, look across how we run things and what we do, and if there's anything you pick up then just come and challenge me on it.

"Him and I get on well. We had natural respect playing against each other and we spent a bit of time together in the last little while, and I'm super excited to have him as part of our support staff as well."