Kevin Pietersen: The start of a new journey

It was fitting that South African-born Kevin Pietersen’s first assignment as England cricket captain was the fourth Test match at Brit Oval, London against his country of birth. Though less than four years old in international cricket, Pietersen has impressed former cricketers and fans alike with his talent and nonchalant attitude at the crease.

Pietersen was thrust into the captaincy after former Test captain Michael Vaughan stepped down after England’s defeat to South Africa in the third Test match. One of the main reasons the England selectors decided to name Pietersen as captain is that he is one of the few English players who is a certainty in all three forms of the game – Test, one-day internationals and Twenty20s.

There were concerns raised that the captaincy would affect Pietersen’s batting and aggressiveness at the crease. Pietersen has proved this wrong, at least for the moment, with a century in England’s first innings of the fourth Test against the Proteas. The most satisfying aspect of that innings was that though he tempered caution with aggression, Pietersen didn’t let the captaincy bog him down as a batsman.

Pietersen also handled his bowlers and made intelligent field changes to indicate that though these are early days for him in a leadership role, he has what it takes to succeed as the captain of a struggling England team. KP, as he is popularly known, is known not to back down from challenges, and he has proved that yet again by accepting the England captaincy, which his teammate and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff describes as one of the most stressful jobs in world cricket.

England’s team has been having a torrid time on the international front, and with Pietersen at the helm, one can expect the ‘Poms’ to be more aggressive and passionate in their approach to the game.

Pietersen is one of the best things that has happened to England cricket in a long time, and the team and fans would be hoping that he passes on the magic to the rest of his team in the ODI series against South Africa and the Champions Trophy in Pakistan (if England does take part) to change the flagging fortunes of his team. Pietersen is certainly the right person for the right job at the right time, and this makes him MSN’s Cricketer of the Week.

Source: India Syndicate