Kevin Pietersen has revealed that he offered to captain the England one-day international side before current captain Alastair Cook got the job.

Pietersen, who resigned as captain in 2009, claims that he was ready to lead the side again but the selectors turned to opener Cook instead.

The 31-year-old told The Mirror: "I did mention to the ­management if they wanted me to captain the one-day side last time I would have given it a full go. I would have done a better job this time."

Despite the snub, Pietersen praised current ODI captain Cook for the way he has performed during the past year.

"Alastair has come on so much. He has come on leaps and bounds in the last 12 months. The Ashes Down Under made Cook," he added.

Pietersen appears to have slipped even further down the pecking order for the captaincy, with Eoin Morgan and Graeme Swann leading the side in the 50-over format in recent times.

Written by
Callum Mulvihill