Kevin Pietersen was born in Pietermaritzburg, 27 June 1980. Though South African by birth, he has become a naturalised England international and is considered one of the test side’s key players, with the likes of Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad and Andrew Strauss. With a career high batting rank of 1 in one day internationals and 3 in test matches, he is not only one of the brightest talents in the country but also in the world.
Yet despite this, he is not universally adored by cricket fans or pundits, many of whom claim that he is not a team player and is ‘irresponsible’ at times. Of all England players his performances are perhaps the most scrutinised and he attracts much criticism despite his obvious gifts. Is it merited? Or is Pietersen just tragically misunderstood?
Early Career, First Class Cricket
Pietersen actually started his cricketing career as a right arm off-spin bowler playing for Natal B in South Africa. It was there that was spotted by both Notts coach Clive Rice and England captain Nasser Hussein, with the latter urging him to sign for an English county side.
Two years later he made the trip, spending five months on loan to Cannock CC in England. Pietersen himself does not have fond memories of the period but it served to measurably improve his cricket and shortly afterwards he was invited to play for Nottinghamshire on a three year contract, which he duly accepted.
He impressed instantly, scoring a century on his first class debut and finishing the season with an average of nearly 60. His form continued into the following year and in August he scored four back-to-back hundreds. It wasn’t long before his name was being touted for an international call up.
One Day Internationals, Test Cricket
Pietersen’s England chance finally came in 2004, when Flintoff pulled out of the party touring Zimbabwe. Scoring an average of 104 over three one day internationals, he was then invited to join the tour of South Africa where he scored three centuries in five innings in extremely hostile conditions. In doing so, he won the respect of England and South African fans alike – the same fans who had booed him tumultously in the first game gave him a standing ovation in the last.
Pietersen’s amazing form in the one day game continued and he became the fastest batsmen in history to reach 1000 runs in one day internationals. But it was in 2005, when he was asked to join the test squad for the Ashes, that he really cemented his reputation as a top class batsman. After ending the series, that some considered the greatest in living memory, as top scorer, with England regaining the Ashes for the first time in 25 years, he was awarded a central contract.
Kevin Pietersen – England Captain
After three more successful years in the test squad, including a memorable century against South Africa at Lords, he was controversially appointed England captain in August 2008. Many objected to the appointment, with respected commentators such as Geoffrey Boycott arguing that he was irresponsible and lacked the temperament for the job. The perception was that Pietersen’s weakness was his ego and that giving him the captaincy was adding fuel to the fire.
It did not however hinder his personal performances and the team started well underneath him, thrashing South Africa in a one day international series 4-0. Things soon took a turn for the worse though as the team lost 5 straight one day games to India and then the first test of the subsequent series.
There were also growing reports of rifts in the dressing room and in January of 2009 he resigned, just five months after gaining the captaincy, following a row with coach Peter Moores over selection and training. Moores himself was sacked.
