Pietersen 'not fussed' by form



Pietersen, who burst on to the international scene with a flurry of big scores in 2005, has failed to pass 50 in his last 17 one-day international innings for England, the last being back in November 2008 when he scored 111 not out as captain against India. That has prompted some within in the game to question the long-term future of the South Africa-born star's place in the side.

Pietersen, 30, who was upstaged by man of the series Eoin Morgan in England's 3-2 win over Australia, was left out of the squad which beat Bangladesh 2-1 recently in order to rest and recover from a minor thigh injury. Pietersen recently became a father for the first time and has enjoyed spending time with his family over the last 10 days. He has shrugged off suggestions that he will not be able to bounce back from his recent poor form.

He said: "I'm not worried about my form. It happens to every single player. It's difficult when you play all three forms of the game to just keep on going and going and going. I don't know if there's a big score for me around the corner. If it happens it happens. I'm not too fussed. I'm not losing any sleep over it." England's Ashes win last summer, their ODI series victory, and May's ICC World Twenty20 triumph over the Australians have led to increased hope that Andrew Strauss's team will be able to retain the famous urn with victory Down Under this winter.

"I don't think that the one-day series win and the Twenty20 win will have any effect at all on the Ashes," said the Hampshire batsman. "The only thing we can take out of those two series is that we know a bit more about their batsmen and bowlers and their fielding positions. "The Australians are fantastic cricketers. They are tough human beings that will never, ever give up so it doesn't matter what the team is like."

* PA

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Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

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Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
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The specs

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On sale: now

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')

Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')

Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

The biog

Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives. 

The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast. 

As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau

He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker. 

If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah

 

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

if you go

Getting there

Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.

Staying there

On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.

More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr

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