The Irish-born batsman, who joins Michael Hussey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Hauritz and Jacques Kallis at the beefed-up Twenty20 franchise, told Fairfax Media although he had not yet read the book he'd remain a firm supporter of the out-of-favour Pietersen.  "Kevin, for me, is a guy who commands huge respect, a guy I'll always remember for the performances he put in and the experience he gave me when I first came into the side," Morgan said on Monday.

"He was very welcoming and I spent a lot of time with him, learning from him. He'll always remain like that in my eyes regardless of what's come out."

While the 28-year-old would not validate Pietersen's claim a culture of bullying existed in the England team under former coach Andy Flower, he insisted his adopted country had been afforded every opportunity to succeed in the World Cup with an unprecedented focus on one-day cricket.  "Bullying? Not that I can recall," he said of Pietersen's claim that the England bowling attack demanded on-field apologies from any fielder who dropped a catch. "I think it is [a happy dressing room], absolutely."

"It's a changing time for English cricket given that [new coach] Peter Moores hasn't had a lot of time in the job. He's a coach that brings a lot of energy and new ideas to a team that's very young and inexperienced and only time will tell if we're successful or not. The World Cup will be a great gauge. The time we have to prepare on only white-ball cricket over the next two months and leading into the World Cup - we're playing Sri Lanka [in seven one-dayers] and then the tri-series out here [against Australia and India] - will hopefully hold us in good stead. We have never had a period like this where we're only playing white-ball cricket, so there's great emphasis for us. Given the style of cricket we play helps us more we're playing in Australia and New Zealand as opposed to the subcontinent. The conditions suit our seamers and our batsmen. We've struggled a bit with spin, not having a commanding spin bowler since Graeme Swann left, but I don't think spin will play a big part [in the World Cup]."

Morgan described the announcement that Mazda was unveiled as the Thunder's main sponsor for this summer indicated that there was a solid belief that the franchise was on the rise after it had languished at the bottom of the ladder for each of the Big Bash League's first three seasons.  "Seeing the process the Sydney Thunder were going through last year and the development of the younger players coming through was very exciting," he said. "The signings this year are hugely significant, to have guys like Jacques Kallis and Pat Cummins join Michael Hussey should have a huge impact at the club. It's not just on the field but for the young guys who are coming through the work ethic of a Jaques Kallis will rub off."