Flintoff injured as Pietersen makes ton

Kevin Pietersen put a troubled month behind him by returning to England duty with a cathartic 90-ball hundred, while Owais Shah seized his opportunity to impress with a century of his own, as England's batsmen racked up an imposing total of 424 for 8 on the first day of their warm-up game against a St Kitts Invitational XI at Basseterre.

"What happened to me for a couple of weeks really, really hurt me," he said about his departure as England captain. "I have just got to really and truly get back to doing what I love. And when I cross over the white line, that is what I love.

"I love training, I love batting and I love scoring runs for England. It has been difficult but I am okay now; I would like a few questions answered first for everything to be gone but time is healing."

However, England's success with the bat was overshadowed by the news that Andrew Flintoff will play no further part in the game after experiencing discomfort in his left side. A similar problem last summer postponed Flintoff's Test comeback after ankle surgery and caused him to miss England's home series against New Zealand, and the team's medical staff have decided to take no chances with the first Test in Jamaica now less than a fortnight away.

Flintoff did not play much of a part in the day's proceedings. He was caught on the long-on boundary for 11, having struck one big six and having survived one caught-and-bowled opportunity. He is expected to be sent for a scan, while St Kitts have agreed to allow Stuart Broad to step in as a substitute player, despite the prior arrangement to treat this contest as a conventional 11-a-side fixture.

Aside from their off-field concerns, it was a successful day for England, who took full advantage of Warner Park's infamously short boundaries to clobber a wealth of boundaries in the course of their 90 overs. Alastair Cook, newly unveiled as England's vice-captain for the Test series, showed glimpses of his best form with a 67-ball 52, while Ian Bell, whose place is under threat after an ordinary tour of India, batted brightly for 36 before driving a return catch to the legspinner, Akilo Willett, who was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 118.

Even Steve Harmison got into the swing of things, slogging a breezy 58 from No. 9 before falling in the final over. It was, however, a less auspicious day for England's new captain, Andrew Strauss. He suffered a second-ball duck as St Kitts' new-ball bowler, Calvin Williams, found some extra lift off a good length, and Junie Mitchum at third slip pocketed a simple lobbed catch off the shoulder of the bat.

Nevertheless, the day belonged to Pietersen, who proved in quite emphatic terms that the loss of the England captaincy has not diminished his devastating powers at the crease. He got off the mark in typical fashion, slog-sweeping the offspinner Terrance Ward for six over square leg, and he went on to post his fifty soon after lunch from only 41 balls.

That landmark was the signal for Pietersen to unfurl the more extravagant shots in his armoury. Ward was switch-hit for six over the covers as England racked up 185 runs in the post-lunch session, and his fourth-wicket stand with Shah was worth 158 by the time he was deceived by a wide ball from Willett and stumped for 103, moments after driving a full-toss down the ground to bring up his hundred.

Shah, however, powered on regardless. Opting for a more conventional approach than his partner, he reached the close on 125 not out, an innings that might yet prove sufficient to earn him his third Test cap, almost three years after his debut against India in Mumbai, and 18 months on from his solitary home appearance against West Indies at Lord's.

Scorecard:

England tour of West Indies - Tour Match
St Kitts Invitational XI v England XI 2008/09 season

Played at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts, on 25,26,27 January 2009 (3-day match)


England XI 1st innings R M B 4s 6s SR
captain AJ Strauss c Mitchum b Williams 0 0 0 0 0 -
AN Cook b Willett 52 0 0 7 0 -
IR Bell c & b Willett 36 0 0 4 0 -
KP Pietersen st wicketkeeperSimmonds b Willett 103 0 0 13 3 -
OA Shah not out 125 0 0 8 0 -
A Flintoff c Rogers b Liburd 11 0 0 1 1 -
wicketkeeper MJ Prior c Rogers b Willett 16 0 0 1 0 -
AU Rashid c Mitchum b Willett 6 0 0 0 0 -
SJ Harmison c Boland b Mitchum 58 0 0 12 0 -
Extras (b 3, lb 3, w 4, nb 7) 17

Total (8 wickets; 91.5 overs) 424 (4.61 runs per over)

To bat JM Anderson, MS Panesar

Fall of wickets1-0 (Strauss), 2-96 (Bell), 3-103 (Cook), 4-257 (Pietersen), 5-292 (Flintoff), 6-318 (Prior), 7-337 (Rashid), 8-424 (Harmison)


Bowling O M R W Econ
CA Williams 10 2 35 1 3.50
NA Boland 8 0 56 0 7.00
EJ Powell 14 3 39 0 2.78
TR Ward 16 1 81 0 5.06
AE Willett 24 3 118 5 4.91
SM Jeffers 4 0 31 0 7.75
SSW Liburd 14 1 54 1 3.85
JA Mitchum 1.5 0 5 1 2.72


St Kitts Invitational XI team
NA Boland, TR Ward, KK Tyson, wicketkeeperJM Simmonds, AE Willett, EJ Powell, JA Mitchum, CL Rogers, SSW Liburd, captainSM Jeffers, CA Williams

Toss England XI, who chose to bat first

Umpires AL Kelly and W Mitchum

Close of play
25 Jan day 1 - England XI 1st innings 424/8 (OA Shah 125*, 91.5 ov)