Player Profile: Kevin Pietersen

The Ashes 2009

Player Profiles and Predictions

by Chris Smith

England Captain

Kevin Pietersen

Still an unproven captain but quite possibly England’s finest and most talented batsman of the modern era. He backs up his talent with an amazing work ethic off the field. His planning and preparation for every match are of the highest order. He devises plans against teams and indeed against individual bowlers, the fact that he can carry out what he intends to do shows his talent, the fact that he makes such good and sometimes audacious plans is the measure of the man’s confidence and cricketing brain. This summer’s series against South Africa showed mostly the best but also the worst of his game. His plan against Makhaya Ntini almost rendered the bowler useless against him, using the angle of the bowler against him and playing beautifully through the leg side. In fact throughout the series he had many of the bowlers scratching their heads. Just when you thought he was invincible though, Pietersen showed his fallible side. With such a desire to dominate and a huge ego to boost, he finds it very difficult to hold back when the situation demands it. Pietersen needs to play in a flamboyant and sometimes risky way, this is the character of the man, he cannot graft his way through difficult situations he has to apply his game to the situation. The problem Pietersen has, is knowing that when he is on top and in top gear, to not search for a higher gear still and give his wicket away when games are for the taking. This was never clearer illustrated than in the third test against South Africa when he gave his wicket cheaply to Paul Harris at a crucial time when South Africa were looking ragged. In that moment the game and the series were lost. There probably wouldn’t have been a chance without Pietersen but his greatness rests on winning games for England and he could have won that game for England, South Africa were all out of ideas.

Ashes prediction

Pietersen loves the big games and always raises his game for Australia. This series will be no different, I expect plenty of runs from England’s captain in a very attacking style. His plan will be to not let Australia’s bowlers bowl at him and expect some innovative and exciting batting. England’s player of the series.

Pietersen’s test record (as of 24/11/08)

Overall:

Matches: 43

Runs: 3890

Bat Ave: 50.51

Vs Australia:

Matches: 10

Runs: 963

Bat Ave: 53.50

Gilchrist full of praise for Pietersen

In an interview with Sun Sports former Australian wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist, has praised the new England captain Kevin Pietersen stating:

"Pietersen is very impressive. In Australia we see that he brings a natural aggression and positive attitude to the side. It could be similar to what Michael Vaughan was able to instill so successfully during the 2005 series. I have always regarded him as a fantastic cricketer and an extremely dangerous opponent".

Although full of praise for Pietersen, Gilchrist also shot a word of warning to the England captain and his charges not to underestimate any Australian team that is sent over to defend the ashes next summer, continuing:

“He is a larger than life character and I can't really think of any weaknesses in his game at all. But I do think that Australia is an extremely resilient cricket nation and our team is still a very formidable one.”"I think that when you lose great players like McGrath and Warne, then any side is going to come back to the field a bit," he added.
Australia, will have they’re work cut out if they are to repeat their 5-0 Ashes whitewash over England in the last series. The 2009 ashes series will definitely be more a case of can Australia win and retain the ashes, rather than by how many.

The Ashes 2009 are All That Matters, KP

Stephen Brenkley has written the following article in today's Independent:

Ashes are all that matter, not T20 distraction
Stanford can have its 20 minutes of fame but Pietersen knows clash with the old enemy is No 1 priority

It may come as a surprise to Kevin Pietersen that some things are simply impossible. Neither the word nor the concept is familiar to him. But he was being quite ridiculous when he said last week, looking forward to England's winter: "Playing Australia is hard but I want to steer away from Ashes, Ashes, Ashes. It's very important what's happening in the next couple of months."
He might have tried whistling in the wind to be certain of being heard more clearly. All roads this winter lead to the 2009 Ashes for England. For Pietersen, the new captain, it is both a curse and a blessing.

Whatever England do and wherever they go in the next eight months, they will be scrutinised in the context of next summer's renewal of the oldest cricketing rivalry. In microcosm, that will apply to Pietersen more than anybody else.

The exception to this may, just, be the events of the next few days and in particular the match taking place in Antigua next Saturday: Stanford Superstars v England, worth $1m (£609,190) to each member of the winning team and $20m in all – the so-called Twenty20 for Twenty. This match has no relevance to the Ashes or anything else. It is a one-off and Pietersen, while doing his employers' bidding, is clearly discomfited by it and what surrounds it.

He made a spirited defence of Test cricket to a gathering of reporters, all of whom were weaned on Test cricket and consider it to be akin to mother's milk, and it was clear from everything he said that the matches which will truly exercise him in the next year are all played over five days: two against India, four against West Indies, two against whomever can be persuaded to play England next May and then the little matter of the quintet against Australia.

But Pietersen is painfully aware that the landscape is changing, and was unruffled by the suggestion that its time may be up. "From my point of view, Test cricket is the big stuff," he said. "I know that my kids or even 10-year-olds right now might just be thinking that they just want to play Twenty20. It is worrying, but that might be the future. Look at televisions, they are high definition now, not black and white with fuzzy screens. That's just the natural progression."

But Twenty20 has changed the way players operate. For instance, as Pietersen pointed out, England will play a Middlesex side tomorrow containing the Warwickshire all-rounder Neil Carter, who is on loan for the county's T20 assignments this winter. "Since the Indian Premier League came in, people are franchising themselves, like Carter, playing against us, which is a disgrace really."

Despite his passion and his nous, it had not seemed to occur to Pietersen that Tests might also be in trouble because nobody is watching them. "The fortunate thing for England is that we play in front of capacity crowds all the time. You want to challenge yourself and part of that is playing to full houses, and we do that here. Hopefully in the Ashes next year we can captivate a huge audience. Of the 40-odd Tests, I don't think I've played in any as close as the five against Australia in 2005.

"The tickets have sold for it quicker than for a Robbie Williams concert. The Ashes is something special, I really don't think we'll have to worry here. I haven't spoken to many people about Test crowds elsewhere but I will after this."

See how hard it was to avoid talking about the Ashes. He might understand the folly of doing so because there are indeed more imminent contests, but he could not help himself when asked. Pietersen is still in his honeymoon period as the official England captain, a period extended by his remarkable start in the job – played five, won five.

This might also apply to his relations with his bosses at the England and Wales Cricket Board. As long as Pietersen keeps winning he can more or less call the shots, even if they are as outrageous as the ones he plays.

The IPL clearly still appeals, and it seems that negotiations are advanced for him to play there next year. Theoretically, this could mean him missing two Test matches which are not yet set in stone but which the ECB seem determined to play. But Pietersen was not being completely disingenuous by pointing out that England players needed T20 experience before next year's T20 World Championship.

It is, as usual, some winter ahead for England and some summer after that. The sooner the Antiguan distraction is done the better for all concerned. And then, as Pietersen must know deep down, all the signs thereafter – whether they be from Ahmedabad in December, or Port of Spain in March – point only one way.

My View

I know that there is a huge buzz around the Stanford game; but it will be over in the blinking of an eye. I truly hope that England will go into that game against the Stanford Superstars and clean up (this is mainly due to the fact that I hope England wins every match they play in), it would be a great windfall for all of the players and their family's, it will also continue to build confidence!

The winter tour of India is going to be an enormous test for all of the England players; it is a very tough place to go and win (as Australia are proving at present). The players state of mind and the team we go into the Ashes series with will very much be decided during the winter tour of India. Confidence is key; for me that was the integral role Kevin Pietersen played during the 2005 Ashes series. The team was laying down and losing to the Australians as usual during the first test at Lords, until KP came out and played two confident knocks taking the game to Australia. After that innings the whole of the England teams attitude notably changed; it was the start of what was to unravel in the next four test matches!!

KP - Aussies are in Decline

Sky sports has reported in an interview with England captain Kevin Pietersen that he feels Australia are in Decline.

The Kevin Pietersen article as reported by Sky sports is written below:

Aussies are in decline
Retirements have weakened Ponting's men, says England skipper.

England captain Kevin Pietersen says Australia will be taking a "backward step" if they recall Shane Warne for next year's Ashes.

Australia's spin cupboard is empty following the retirement of Warne and fellow wrist spinners Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg in the last 18 months.

Leg-spinning all-rounder Cameron White has been unsuccessful in filling the void during the first two Tests of their current tour of India.

Warne, who took 708 wickets in 145 Tests, has previously stated he would consider an Ashes comeback if asked by Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

"I've already had a text from him saying he might play in it next year," said Pietersen, who played with Warne at Hampshire.

"If he does I think it will be a real backwards step for Australia. If they did decide to pull somebody out it would show how much it did mean to Australia, certainly.

"There is still a long way to go before we play them and there is room for improvement - but they certainly aren't the team they were when we played against them last year. Definitely not.

Hammered

"They took Test cricket to a new level with the side that they had and absolutely hammered us. They really hurt us.

"But the side that is playing for Australia now is certainly not the one we played against two years ago.

"They don't have Glenn McGrath they don't have Adam Gilchrist they are missing some pretty dangerous players. They are missing Justin Langer at the top of the order."

Warne claimed 40 wickets during the 2005 Ashes series but Pietersen insists England would not be fazed if he was to pull on the Baggy Green again.

"To be honest it really doesn't matter if he plays or not. I don't have a problem with it and our guys play Shane pretty well. I enjoy facing Shane," added Pietersen.

Pietersen is currently in Antigua with England's limited-overs squad preparing for the Stanford Super Series.

England then travel to India and the West Indies before the 2009 Ashes summer gets under way.

Pietersen wants to tackle Australia on the back of successive series victories, as they did in 2005.

"We have a very important next few months," he said.

My View:

In my humble opinion; KP is probably right, although I wouldn't want to rile the Aussies too much. It's impossible for a team to lose some of the greatest players of the modern cricketing era and not take a step backwards; Warne, McGrath and Gilchrist are unquestionably modern greats with Langer, Hog and MacGill all top drawer players that can have a significant impact on the result of a match. Australia have got quality players to replace the before mentioned players but it will take time for them to fully establish themselves in the test arena and as stated in the Sky sports article Australia are currently lacking in the spin department.

Although I concur with KP's opinion I can't help but think that if Warne were to decide to come back for Australia during the Ashes in 2009 that he would play a significant role. I'm sure if Warne was to make a return he wouldn't comeback half cooked and would make sure that he would be bowling well!

As an Englishman I would rather not see him return; as a cricket fan it would be great to see him bowl again (if he could find some of the old form as he was a magnificent bowler).