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Joe Root has backed Kevin Pietersen to bring the best out of England\u2019s players after the 46-year-old\u2019s surprise appointment<\/a> as a specialist mentor to the white-ball squad, saying he was \u201calways brilliant\u201d when the two played together towards the start of Root\u2019s international career, a period in which he learned \u201ca huge amount\u201d.<\/p>\n Pietersen was in the team when Root made his Test debut as a 21-year-old in Nagpur in 2012, and the pair played alongside each other in 12 Tests before Pietersen was abruptly dropped in 2014. They also combined in nine ODIs, all in 2013.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m probably the last player to have played with him still going,\u201d Root said. \u201cI really enjoyed him as a senior player, coming into the team. He was someone I\u2019d be shadowing all the time. That first tour of India in particular, I would try to buddy up with him in the nets, watch how he practised, watch how he did things, ask for advice. He was really open, really honest, very helpful. And if he can offer that kind of stuff in a coaching capacity as he did as a senior player, I think it\u2019s really going to benefit us as a group.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than anything [he taught me] the importance of footwork, the ability to hit the ball against the spin, with the spin, understanding how that worked, the positions you might want to get yourself into, the ability to manipulate the field and manoeuvre the ball. You have to learn very quickly in those environments when they\u2019re as extreme as they can be in India and that was really beneficial.<\/p>\n \u201c It was similar when we went to Australia, trying to get an understanding of how to play on those surfaces. He was always brilliant in terms of offering up all his thoughts, all his advice. I learned a huge amount from him.\u201d<\/p>\n Pietersen was already a controversial figure when the pair played together, having spent a period out of the team for sending messages critical of England players and coaches to members of the South Africa squad in the summer of 2012, and since moving into punditry has continued to be provocative and outspoken. \u201cYou want people to give their honest opinion,\u201d Root said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would you get him involved if you didn\u2019t want him to tell you what he thinks and give his insight of the game. He\u2019s very knowledgable, he\u2019s got a very good understanding of batting in particular and he\u2019s got a huge amount of energy. I think he\u2019s going to be great for the group.\u201d<\/p>\n With the third and final Test against Pakistan starting at Edgbaston on Wednesday, Root said his most pressing concern is \u201cmaking sure we\u2019re ready for what they\u2019re going to hit us with\u201d. England are likely to face several unfamiliar opponents, with seven players having joined the touring squad \u2013 of which four have no previous international experience \u2013 since the second game at Lord\u2019s. England have been assembling information, but for some players Root said \u201cthere\u2019s not a lot out there\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes the hardest thing is not having a huge amount of information, but you\u2019ve got to play what\u2019s in front of you,\u201d he said. \u201cYou go back 50 or 60 years, they didn\u2019t have video footage then and the guys still found a way of figuring it out and understanding how they were going to take their wickets or score their runs.<\/p>\n
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