Drawing parallels between Pietersen's 158 in the 2005 Ashes and Stokes' 135* in the 2019 series
Back in the year 2005, Kevin Pietersen played perhaps one of the best Test knocks of the 21st century at the Oval. Under pressure, with the Ashes on the line, the South African-born batsman displayed magnificent shot-making ability and tremendous character to help England save the match.
Pietersen’s 158 has been etched in our memory ever since. But in this year’s Ashes, the third Test at Headingley witnessed something just as incredible.
Ben Stokes, the superstar of this summer, produced a career-defining unbeaten knock of 135 to lead England to one of their most unlikely Test match wins ever.
Stokes’ swashbuckling innings made us recall that Pietersen knock from 14 years ago. But which of the two performances was better? Before pronouncing a verdict, it would be pertinent to look at the similarities and dissimilarities between the two innings.
Similarities
Bot Pietersen and Stokes had a rough start to their innings. While Pietersen was left bamboozled by a barrage of bouncers to begin with, Stokes, who came in to bat during the closing stages of Day 3, had to curbing his natural attacking instincts to survive the day.
Both Stokes and Pietersen enjoyed a bit of luck through the course of their respective innings. Pietersen was put down in the slip cordon twice, with Shane Warne and Matthew Hayden unable to hold on to regulation nicks early on in his innings. Stokes meanwhile survived a big scare when he was wrongly given not out by the umpire to a delivery which was later confirmed to be hitting the stumps for an LBW.
Both the right-handed Pietersen and the left-handed Stokes produced a mesmerizing display of swashbuckling strokes. Their knocks not only involved power hitting, but also showcased their tremendous innovative skills.
If Pietersen was up against some of Australia’s best bowlers of his generation like Glenn McGrath, Warne and Brett Lee, Stokes was facing a pace battery comprising of the in-form Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson and the street-smart off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Both the knocks were played under extreme pressure. If not for these emphatic innings, the sun would likely have set on the English camp.
Although Pietersen and Stokes stood firm and strong amidst the Australian onslaught, they witnessed a constant tumbling of wickets at the other end. Pietersen was ably supported by the No. 9 batsman Ashley Giles, and Stokes was helped by England's No. 11 Jack Leach - who occupied the crease while the southpaw did all the damage in their last-wicket partnership.
Dissimilarities
While Pietersen crafted the innings of his lifetime on the fifth and final day of the 5th Ashes Test in 2005, Stokes scripted his remarkable story on Day 4, which turned out to be the last day of the 3rd Ashes Test in 2019.
Pietersen’s sensational innings helped England regain the Ashes, while the swashbuckling knock from Stokes led to the home team squaring the series at one apiece. Eventually the 2019 Ashes series was drawn at 2-2, meaning England could not replicate their heroics of 2005 to regain the urn.
Pietersen was playing in his first ever Test series, and the way in which he treated the Aussie bowlers - with a sense of disdain - was simply phenomenal. By contrast, Stokes was already a national hero before his 135, courtesy his performance that brought England their first ever World Cup.
Pietersen’s role in his team was just that of a specialist batsman, but Stokes’ effort came while he was entrusted with the responsibilities of an all-rounder.
Finally, Stokes’ was a match-winning knock, but Pietersen’s onslaught was a match-saving one.
Both these innings have their own special qualities that make them memorable. Recency bias might tempt us to pick Stokes' innings as the greater one, but Pietersen's effort was admirable in its own right.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter all that much to English fans which innings was better; they would just be happy that both Pietersen and Stokes did something extraordinary to help their team get over the finish line.
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