India v England: Jonathan Trott fears batsman Kevin Pietersen cracks could reopen in Test cricket's hothouse One of the ways of incorporating Pietersen has been to give him more responsibility, something not easily done under Andrew Strauss, who succeeded him as Test captain in unhappy circumstances. Now that Alastair Cook is in charge, there is enough distance for Pietersen to embrace the role of senior pro, especially in a place such as India, where his contacts from the Indian Premier League mean just about anything can be sorted. "It's something Graham Gooch has asked him to do," Richard Halsall, England's fielding coach, said on Monday. Because it's in India, and Kevin knows India very well, that's helped. Organising stuff for the players, it brings him into the room more. If blokes want to get an ounce taken off their bat, or they don't have the right music with them, he knows someone who can organise it for us. It just eases things. There is also Pietersen's batting, which, while difficult for others to emulate, still observes some basic rules with regard to playing on slow pitches. "Playing in the subcontinent, he's sought advice from lots of people, so he's been able to pass that on," said Halsall. That hundred he got in Colombo - his last experience of playing in the subcontinent was a very positive one. Young players like Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root would be foolish not to ask KP about batting here. England's bowlers could similarly benefit from his experience of conditions, though getting the first-string attack fit and ready is probably England's priority. Graeme Swann is back after comforting his ill baby daughter in the UK while Steve Finn and Chris Broad, after a decent bowl at full throttle in the nets on Sunday, are both eyeing Thursday's first Test. "Steve is clearly ahead of where we thought he'd be and it was genuinely quite scary taking the ball from him the other day," said Halsall. Stuart is exactly where we thought he'd be at this stage. Ideally we'd have liked them to have more overs in the middle but the next two days, in the lead-up to the Test, will be critical because they'll have to bowl two spells on each day before we have an idea if they'll be fit for a five-day match.