Pleased Flower hails KP's battling top form

London, May 18 (ANI): Andy Flower, the England cricket team's coach, is a pleased man these days, not so much for the recent laurels acquired on the world stage, but for the battling return to form of key batsman Kevin Pietersen.

Flower has revealed his pleasure at watching a player of Pietersen's class cope with the pressure of expectation as well as a 72-hour round trip to see his newly enlarged family.

"It speaks volumes for him and for the way he handles pressure," The Mirror quoted said the England team director, as saying.

"Kevin, more than most, is expected to deliver on most occasions and especially in situations like this. He handles pressure superbly and has made match-winning contributions on a number of occasions through this series so his award was well earned," Flower added.

"I am really happy for him to get those results, not just because he helps us win but because he had to work so hard on his game over past 12 months and now he can see the fruits of his labours," Flower said.

A fit and firing Pietersen has made a huge difference, turning a good England Twenty20 side into a great one, but as he acknowledged after the final that he is only part of the puzzle. ANI)