Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa) is a cricketer - an attacking right-handed batsman who plays for England and Hampshire. After England's 2005 Ashes triumph, the nickname KP is used to refer to Pietersen across the country.

England career

Pietersen was, unsurprisingly, selected for the full England one-day side at the earliest opportunity, for the tour to Zimbabwe and South Africa in 2004/05. He had a relatively quiet debut in the second One-Day International at Harare, scoring 27 not out from 47 balls with just one boundary, sedate indeed by Pietersen's standards, but an unbeaten run-a-ball 77 in the third ODI began to hint at what he could be capable of. He played only one more innings in that series, and that was a first-ball duck at Bulawayo, but the South Africans lay in wait, and they would present a far greater challenge than the limited Zimbabwean team.

Related Topics:
Zimbabwe - South Africa - 2004 - 05 - One-Day International - Harare - Bulawayo - South Africans - Zimbabwean team

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pietersen made a brilliant 96-ball 108 in the second ODI at Bloemfontein, celebrating reaching three figures by kissing the badge on his helmet ostentatiously -- and, to many of the crowd who saw him as a traitor to the country of his birth, provocatively; they deliberately turned their backs on him as he returned to the pavilion. He made 75 at Cape Town, then at East London made an unbeaten 100 from just 69 balls. England lost, but Pietersen made sure it was a glorious defeat, smashing the last ball of the game for his seventh six to bring up his century. The final game, at Centurion Park, saw another Pietersen masterclass, though again in a losing cause -- coming to the wicket at 32/3, which soon became 68/6, Pietersen hit 116 with ten fours and six sixes, finally gaining not only respect but admiration from the crowd, who gave him a standing ovation.

Related Topics:
Bloemfontein - Cape Town - East London - Centurion Park

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Back in England, the rumours of tensions with his Nottinghamshire team-mates that had dogged him ever since 2001 finally came to a head, and for 2005 he joined Hampshire under the captaincy of Shane Warne. He was not picked for the Tests against Bangladesh, but picked up a Man of the Match award in the Twenty20 demolition of Australia at Southampton, when he made 34 from 18 balls and held three catches. England's ten-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first ODI at The Oval meant that Pietersen's next game was also against the Australians, and at Bristol he produced what England captain Michael Vaughan called "probably the best one-day innings I have ever seen by an Englishman", smashing an unbeaten 91 off 65 balls as England recovered from 160/6 to pass Australia's total of 252 with 15 balls to spare. At that point Pietersen averaged 162.25 in his 13 ODIs, and former England captains Ian Botham and Mike Atherton afterwards called for him to be brought into the Ashes Test side later in the summer.

Related Topics:
2005 - Shane Warne - Tests - Bangladesh - Twenty20 - Australia - Southampton - The Oval - Bristol - Michael Vaughan - Ian Botham - Mike Atherton - Ashes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pietersen debuted for the English Test team in the first Ashes Test at Lord's, scoring 57 in his first innings in Test cricket and 64 not out in his second. This makes him only the 4th player to top score in both innings on debut for England, one of only 8 English players to score over 50 in each innings on debut, and only the 3rd player in history to make 50 or more in both innings on debut at Lord's. He followed up with 71 in the second Ashes Test at Edgbaston, giving him three half-centuries in his first three Test match innings.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the fifth and final Test of the Ashes at The Oval on 12 September, 2005, Pietersen scored 158 in the second innings - his maiden Test century - to help England secure the draw that ensured they regained the Ashes with a 2-1 series victory. His innings included seven sixes - a record for an English player in an Ashes innings. Pietersen was named man of the match for his efforts.

Related Topics:
The Oval - 12 September - 2005 - Man of the match

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He finished the 2005 ashes series as highest run scorer over the 5 tests, scoring 473 runs at an average 52.55

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pietersen's achievements have led to him being awarded a a central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board until the end of the 2005 summer.

Related Topics:
Central contract - England and Wales Cricket Board - Summer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~