Kevin Pietersen: England have no personal vendettas with Pakistan but we are ready to hit them hard "It's become quite a joke among the lads as I've only scored two hundreds in however many warm-up games in my career, but it's not a problem at all," Pietersen said. My preparation has always been 100 per cent for Test matches and I don't lose any sleep over not getting runs in warm-up games. I don't get any buzz out of playing warm-up games. I worked on a few things this game which actually worked out very well but in a warm-up game I don't personally lose any sleep over not scoring runs. He wasn't as phlegmatic after losing the captaincy, when he made just one Test hundred in 38 innings and his appetite for success was compromised by what he saw as a vendetta against him from within English cricket. Happily for him and England, he is back among the runs with three big hundreds, two of them doubles, in the past 13 months. I just wasn't interested. I had to go away and try to find my love for the game and recapture stuff that I did right when I started, the simple things I did right and I think I did those. I think somebody said I have averaged 70 since I've been to South Africa to work on my game. My motivation is still there to get 10,000 Test runs [he has 6,341] to get as many hundreds as possible [he's scored 19] and to average 50 in Test cricket [which he does, just]. I've still got those ambitions, I think I'm on my way and that's what I want to try to achieve. A good series for him here would help boost everything in the right direction, as well as help England maintain their No 1 status. Standing in his, and England's way, is Saeed Ajmal, Pakistan's brilliant off-spinner, a bowler who has already tied Pietersen's willowy frame in knots. Ajmal, who primarily bowls off-breaks and doosras, is said to have developed a secret ball, the "teesra." or third one. Pietersen, who bowled off-breaks seriously himself once, scoffs at the temerity of it. How many balls did Shane Warne have in his career? He had a leg-spinner and a straight break, that's all he had, and a flipper occasionally. He talked about seven or eight balls so I've no interest, but Ajmal is a world-class spinner and we're going to have to play him well. He does a very good job for Pakistan and we're going to have our wits about us because he's a huge match-winner for them. Since he has been in Dubai, Pietersen learnt of his $2 million (£1.3 million) transfer to the Delhi Daredevils from the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League. Cricket teams, even England, used to be one of the most egalitarian workplaces, with only the captain earning a bit more than everyone else. Surely such sums have the scope to unbalance the dressing room if not the recipient? It's not a case of not achieving things, but I think you deserve them when you achieve. Signing a deal in India doesn't take my focus away from scoring hundreds for England, winning another couple of Ashes, all those sorts of things. It's just a nice perk of the job for my numbers in cricket stacking up pretty well. He professes a deep love for India and its people, and who wouldn't in his position, but there is nearly always an equalising karma at play there that balances fortune with misfortune. A day after his good news, Pietersen lost at credit card roulette, a game played by the team when a big dinner bill is run up. In his case it was £1,200 worth at the Ivy for Tim Bresnan's farewell dinner prior to his return home from injury. That was a heavy hit. After the day I'd had the previous day, I don't think it was that bad," Pietersen said. But I was a very sour man having to buy all those individuals food. According to Pietersen, keeping the team happy and together will be crucial if England are to win in the subcontinent, where they have three Test series over the next 10 months, and make their No 1 tag stick. Staying on top is harder than getting there because everyone is trying to knock you off your perch. It's a British thing to clean out somebody when they are on top, so we need to keep getting the right results," said Pietersen, who was speaking on behalf of Maximuscle, official nutrition supplier to the ECB. If people keep fit, I think we are capable of winning all three series in Asia, because of our spin options and how we reverse swing the ball. We have an incredible top order, with batsmen down the order who are hitting them beautifully. We have a wicketkeeper who is one of the best players of spin in the world, so I think we have all bases covered. Maximuscle are proud sponsors of the ECB and providers of sports nutrition to the England cricket team. Maximuscle is the choice of England fast bowler Stuart Broad. Visit www.maximuscle.com/stuart for more information.