Kevin Pietersen's debut in International Cricket

Here, we will take a look at Kevin Pietersen’s debut in International Cricket. He has arguably been England’s best batsman of the 21st century so far. Best remembered for his in-your-face approach as a player, Pietersen has won the hearts of fans from acoss the world and been the architect of some fine innings thanks to his free flowing strokeplay as a middle-order batsman.

Pietersen’s international cricket journey began in 2004, when he was selected to play in a one-day series against Zimbabwe. At the time, Pietersen had three years of county cricket experience behind him, having played for the English club Nottinghamshire till late 2003. Pietersen scored an unbeaten 27 in his very first international game, and finished the 4-match series with an impressive average of 104. In early 2005, Pietersen was part of the English ODI squad to South Africa, the country of his birth. His switch to England made him the target of much abuse from the South African supporters as well as from the media prior to the series.

Later in 2005, the England selectors entrusted Pietersen with the daunting task of taking over from veteran batsman Graham Thorpe at the number 5 position in the all-important home Ashes series. Pietersen made his Test Match debut at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, but England were thrashed by a margin of 239 runs and failed to cross 180 in either of their innings. Pietersen made 57 and 64* respectively to get his Test Match career off to a bright start. It was in the series-deciding fifth Test match however, that Pietersen really announced himself to the world, and belted an astonishing 158 at the Oval on the last day of the series. It was an innings filled with dazzling stroke-play, and Pietersen’s fearless approach against the likes of McGrath, Lee and Warne ensured England saved the Test match and regained the Ashes for the first time in 19 years on home-soil.

Kevin Pietersen has answered his critics over the years with a mixture of sheer arrogance and has often shared personal problems with the online community. More often than not though, he has let his bat do the talking, like when he belted three centuries against South Africa in the five match ODI series of 2005. His career ended under bizarre circumstances after a fall-out with the England coaching staff in early 2014, but Pietersen amassed over 8000 Test runs and 4400 ODI runs in his 9 years as an international cricketer, breaking many a record along the way, to ensure his place amongst the greats of English cricket.