Andy Flower says Kevin Pietersen's slump is down to shot selection

England's team director, Andy Flower, has put Kevin Pietersen's run of bad form in one-day internationals down to bad shot selection rather than any technical deficiencies or loss of form. "I actually think he looks in superb form," Flower said, after England's eight-match winning run in 50-over cricket came to an end with Australia's 78-run victory at The Oval last night . Pietersen made eight and was one of five victims for the Australia quick bowler Ryan Harris, extending the worst one-day run of his career to 16 matches without reaching 50. He has not passed a half-century since he made an unbeaten 111 in Cuttack in November 2008 – a match that was followed by England's brief departure from India because of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Flower believes Pietersen's problem is largely a mental one. "His balance is excellent," he said. "He is hitting balls through the off side as well as I have ever seen him. I would not look so much at [his last] 16 innings. He has another chance to find the balance in decision-making which allows him to stay at the crease long enough for a big score. "He is very hungry to do that for England. He wants to be a game-changer and a match-winner. Saturday [the fifth and final match in the series] will be a lovely stage for him at Lord's on a sunny day. It would be great for him to score runs. But I don't think it is a matter of him coming back into form – it is just a matter of him being able to stay long enough at the crease." At The Oval Pietersen's dismissal involved an extravagant movement across his stumps, to be lbw to Harris. The decision by the umpire Richard Kettleborough, vindicated by Hawk-Eye, resulted in Pietersen offering a meaningful stare. He escaped punishment by the match referee. Flower accepted that Pietersen's run of failures is putting pressure on those following him, notably Eoin Morgan who has repeatedly come in at No5 with England under pressure. "Cameos are useful but the really big scores not only change the momentum of the game but often decide the result. We need our top four to get those big scores," Flower said. "Eoin has been superb for us in resurrecting certain circumstances but we want to put him in those circumstances less often." It is possible that Flower's accent on England playing daring cricket has been less beneficial to Pietersen than the rest of the batting line-up, as Pietersen needs no second invitation to play adventurously. Perhaps the balance has gone too far. Flower said: "What we have done over the last few months is to play brave and strong cricket – certainly in the West Indies at the Twenty20 World Cup . "That is the type of cricket I want to play. It means being decisive, committing yourself to a decision, committing yourself to an improvement in performance, to throw yourself into it because of enjoyment and abandon."