England batsman Kevin Pietersen says he wishes he could have done more to prevent his country's horror run in the Ashes, but has laughed off suggestions from Australian coach John Buchanan that he is not a team player.
The tourists are 4-0 down in the series and facing a whitewash as they arrive in Sydney today to prepare for the fifth Test, which begins on Tuesday.
Pietersen has faced criticism for his reluctance to move up the batting order from number five, with Buchanan saying he shows no evidence of being a team man.
But Pietersen says a lack of mental preparedness stopped him from an earlier move up the order.
He moved up to number four in the second innings of the MCG Test, only to be bowled by Stuart Clark for 1.
Pietersen says it would not have been in the team's best interests to make the move any earlier.
"I know there's been a lot of hype in the media and it's just a case of me getting myself mentally tuned in and mentally right," he said.
"I found that in the last couple of days I have been right and I have felt good for it and I was never ever going to put the team in jeopardy of me going in to bat at four, knowing I wasn't right."
Pietersen said he will take it as a compliment that Buchanan is still trying to ruffle him up.
"It obviously still just means quite a lot to the Australians to be still trying to chuck a bomb into the England camp," he said.
"They've done it six to eight months leading up to this Test series, they'll probably be doing it after the series and I'm not going to get involved in a slanging match between me and the coach of Australia.
"They obviously want to win 5-0 and maybe he's trying to get into my head to make me wonder if I am a lone ranger - which I am not. We are a team.
"I give everything I have for this England team - on the field, in the dressing room and in the nets.
"To suggest I play for myself, don't care about my team-mates or the team or choose exactly where I want to bat is total rubbish."
Pietersen lamented England's heartbreaking defeat in the second Test in Adelaide, where they posted over 500 in their first innings and still lost.
He said he had batted for just half an hour longer in the second innings, England would have won.
He said there was plenty of incentive for the team to win the final Test at the SCG.
"To know that that stadium's going to be full, it's going to be full in a great arena, there are going to be thousands and thousands of Barmy Army, it's going to be fantastic," he said.
"That picks us up enough and with such a huge Test match, knowing that we've got to try to salvage some sort of pride or something towards it, it will pick the boys up."
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