Kevin Pietersen: Chronicling the swashbuckling batsman's cricketing journey on his birthday
Before the good days of the brigade of modern big-hitters in the English ranks, there existed an equally aggressive – and perhaps more ferocious – batsman in their set-up, with a style completely in contrast to the tradition of English batting.
Prior to Kevin Pietersen bursting onto the international scene, only Marcus Trescothick had shown sparks of rapidly compiling runs.
But once Pietersen arrived, he brought with him traits of a natural smasher of the cricket ball – a quality his adopted nation so desperately needed post the drubbing at the 2015 World Cup.
Early Days
Having started his cricket in the South African province of Natal, where Kevin Pietersen was born to an English mother and an Afrikaner father, the right-hander continued playing the game in the country of his birth till his teenage days.
Starting out as an off-spinner with great potential to hit big lower down the order, Pietersen soon switched roles when inadequate bowling opportunities forced him to enhance his batting.
His first-class debut came for Natal’s B team in 1997, and after two seasons, he flew to England for a five-month stint in club cricket with Cannock CC, whom he helped triumph in the Birmingham and District Premier League in 2000. However, his return to South Africa did not last long.
The Proteas’ great all-rounder Clive Rice spotted Pietersen in school cricket earlier and offered him a contract at Nottinghamshire. Seduced by top-flight cricket in England, he could not resist from the worthy offer.
Fate was such that Pietersen was left fumed at the racial quota system prevailing in his native country, which he would eventually ditch for the birthland of his mother. That his mother was an England-born allowed him a leeway in gaining English citizenship.
Pietersen blossomed in England as soon as he began his journey with his new team, hitting 1,275 runs at 57.95 in his maiden season, which included an impressive 218*.
Formative cricket
The following season brought him another double ton against Middlesex, and Pietersen smacked four successive triple-figure scores – 254*, 122, 147 and 116. He continued to enjoy his joyride with Nottinghamshire in both first-class cricket as well as limited-overs matches.
Pietersen visited India with the ECB National Academy in 2003/04, and left his imprint there with 523 runs at 104.60, after which he hit 131 in a one-day game in Bangalore.
Unsatisfactory pitches at Trent Bridge, which led to serious differences with captain Jason Gallian, compelled Pietersen to quit the county for Hampshire. With England selection making him an irregular for his new county, he scarcely represented Hampshire before changing loyalties again.
By the time the 2010 season concluded, Pietersen had become a father which tempted him to stay in London and thus choose Surrey as his domestic team.
Having made his England debut in Zimbabwe in 2004, Pietersen began with a bang. As the visitors swept aside the hosts 4-0, he averaged 104 and was already on his way to becoming a modern superstar of English cricket.
Only a year later, he went to South Africa again – this time, in an England jersey. He was picked in all seven ODIs and brutally bashed the bowlers throughout.
Pietersen's merciless assault acted as an insult to injury for South Africa, as he raked up three hundreds in the series, one of which came off a mere 69 deliveries – a then English record. Also, he became the Man of the Series for his consistency in the series.
Big achievements
Pietersen broke through England’s Test team at the expense of the experienced Graham Thorpe. It was an occasion of a double celebration as not only was it a Test debut, but also against arch-rivals Australia for the home Ashes in 2005.
The legendary Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, who had captained him at Hampshire, were waiting to trap their prey and prove they were the lions of the game.
But Pietersen always had an answer. He clobbered quick half-centuries in each of his first three innings of the series and never let the big match pressure perturb him. Though England lost at Lord’s, they hit back with a win at Edgbaston by scraping through by 2 runs.
Pietersen contributed 71 in the first innings and bashed Warne for twin sixes in a single over in the second to show his fearlessness in front of one of the greatest spinners in the world.
When England were in trouble at The Oval despite being 2-1 ahead in the series, Pietersen made most of his fortune after being dropped thrice. He produced a knock deserving to be tagged as the best on English soil yet.
Rumour has it that when England were jostling, Pietersen went to his captain Michael Vaughan at the other end and asked, “How should I play?”, to which Vaughan replied, “The way you want to.”
Pietersen tonked seven sixes – an Ashes record for an Englishman which he snatched from Sir Ian Botham – in a ruthless innings of 158, reserving special treatment for pace, in particular, Brett Lee, whom he hammered for 26 in five consecutive deliveries he faced from him.
The match was drawn, Pietersen hit most runs in the series and England got the urn after 17 years.
For a brief period in 2008, Pietersen was in charge of the England side, though that lasted hardly for a few months. Coach Peter Moores and Pietersen had a fallout and the latter lost his captaincy, while the former his job.
In England’s only global triumph thus far in the World T20 in 2010, Pietersen was declared the Man of the Tournament for scoring a lot of runs at a hurried pace. And in 2012, came Pietersen’s other two remarkable Test tons worth a lifetime’s memory.
At Headingley against South Africa, he rescued England with a dominant 149 while in Mumbai a few months later, India received a reality check with Pietersen’s masterclass of 186, which paved the way for an eventual series win.
At one point, Pietersen held the English record for most Test hundreds to go with most international runs.
Current Status
England were thumped 5-0 in Australia during the 2013-14 Ashes and expectedly, there were harsh outcomes. One of them – rather the only one – was Pietersen’s dumping from the national side. New ECB Managing Director Paul Downton claimed he wanted to build a team with ‘proper culture’.
Ever since, Pietersen has been compelled to spend time contesting in T20 leagues around the globe. He has participated in the IPL, the CPL, the Big Bash League, the PSL and the Ram Slam T20.
There was a rumour before the English summer began in 2015 that Pietersen could be drafted back into the side and his differences with his once-captain Andrew Strauss would be resolved. He even slammed 355* for Surrey immediately before the New Zealand series that summer, but the lid on his comeback had been shut forever.
Besides entertaining his fans in T20 cricket, Pietersen has also done commentary for various tournaments.
Also Read: Kevin Pietersen confirms he won't take part in IPL 2018