Friday 4 July 2014 15:16, UK
Shane Warne believes Kevin Pietersen will prove that England were wrong to axe him when he takes the field in a star-studded extravaganza at Lord’s on Saturday.
Pietersen is part of the Rest of the World side that will take on the MCC in a one-day clash commemorating the bicentenary of the home of cricket.
Warne will skipper the Rest of the World, with India legend Sachin Tendulkar leading the MCC in a match featuring a number of huge names from the sport.
But much of the attention will be on Pietersen, who was controversially dropped from the entire England set-up following a review of the disastrous Ashes tour.
England captain Alastair Cook is believed to have been one of the main influences in the decision to exclude Pietersen, who was accused of not supporting the skipper in Australia and having an adverse effect on the dressing room.
The 34-year-old insists he would welcome a return to the international scene and remains available for selection, and Warne expects the “superstar” to show England what they are missing.
"KP is an absolute match-winner," said Warne.
"He is a superstar and a wonderful player. He is fantastic to watch, I'm sure he will turn it on on Saturday and smash it all over the park.
“He has played well over the years at Lord's in his time with England and hopefully he can do that on Saturday.
"With the guys we have in the side they are pretty special and we all have egos but we will all be keen to impress and to show what they have got with the bat or the ball.
"I'm sure one or two players in the Rest of the World side will be keen to get out there and score a lot of runs.
“It will be pretty relaxed, everyone knows everyone. We want to win, Sachin's team wants to win so we will enjoy the game."
Warne and Pietersen will be joined by the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Muttiah Muralitharan, Yuvraj Singh and Paul Collingwood, whilst Tendulkar's MCC team includes names such as Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara and Brett Lee.
Don't miss a ball of the bicentenary celebrations at Lord's on Saturday. Live coverage begins at 10am on Sky Sports 1.
