England Finding Form

KENYA NEWS

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Pietersen built a great partnership with Joyce.

England's Kevin Pietersen believes the batsmen are finally getting used to the Caribbean wickets and finding form at the right time in the World Cup.

Pietersen hit 55 not out, after Ed Joyce's 75, as England comfortably chased down Kenya's 177 all out with 10 overs to spare.

"We have had a real tough week. Last weekend didn't help matters," said Pietersen, referring to the late-night drinking exploits which resulted in several members of the squad being fined.

"We have had to come out here and put in a real convincing win to take us forward. To win by seven wickets is a really good effort from the boys."

He added on Sky Sports: "Hopefully we are getting a bit better suited to the wickets. That is key.

"Hopefully we can win four or five games in the Super Eight and get ourselves back into the semi-finals."

Man of the match Joyce felt the team could be pleased with their performance.

Joyce, who was following up his 66 against Canada, said on Sky Sports: "There was a bit of pressure and we had to get off to a good start. We had to play positively.

"We probably let ourselves down in the last game but we did most things right today, which was nice."

Joyce, preferred to Andrew Strauss in England's first three games, admitted he needs to keep delivering to retain his place in the side.

He added: "There are so many good players out there, you are always under pressure to score, which is a good thing.

"I scored 60 in the last game, so there was some form there, but it was nice to get some today.

"You are looking over your shoulder, but that is quite healthy."

Captain Michael Vaughan was delighted with England's professionalism and the way they avoided the "banana-skin" provided by Kenya, who reached the World Cup semi-finals only four years ago.

"We were good today," stressed Vaughan. "When you come up against a potential banana-skin you just want to get the basics done right.

"We wanted to be very professional and that's exactly what we were today - I thought we were professional in all the areas of the game.

"We've got the job done and we're now going to the Super Eight and hopefully we can take the momentum of the last two victories and make sure we start well against Ireland in Guyana."

Vaughan revealed the intensity of the practice this week in the aftermath of the late night drinking incident and Bob Woolmer's shocking murder had convinced him England would go through.

He said: "We're relieved because we're through, but I was very confident going into today's game because of the way we practised and the way the lads have focused.

"It's been a tough week for everyone but the players have really focused well in practice and when you do that you tend to get good performances.

"We're happy to go through and we now know we have to start well in Guyana and beat Ireland to catch up because we're not taking any points through with us."

Kenya captain Steve Tikolo, who hit 76, defended his decision to bat first after early morning rain delayed the start.

"I felt the wicket looked fairly good for batting, it looked different to the two wickets we played on previously," he said. "The decision to bat was valid.

"We just didn't get the partnerships going. A score of 177 on this wicket was not enough."