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Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a former England international cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest England batsmen to have played the game, and renowned for his competitive, and often controversial nature. He was a right-handed
batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...
and occasional
off spin Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to r ...
bowler who played in all three formats for
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
between 2004 and 2014, which included a brief tenure as
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
. He won the Player of the Series award for his performances in
2010 ICC World Twenty20 The 2010 ICC World Twenty20 was the third edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament that was held in the West Indies between 30 April and 16 May 2010. It was wo ...
which helped England to win their maiden ICC trophy. Pietersen was born to an
Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...
father and English mother in South Africa. He made his first-class debut for Natal in 1997 and moved to England in 2000, after voicing his displeasure at what he said was the racial quota system in South African cricket. Being of English ancestry, Pietersen was eligible for the England team so long as he first served a four-year qualifying period in English county cricket. He was called up by England almost immediately after he completed four years with
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
. He made his international debut in the
One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
(ODI) match against
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
in 2004 and his Test match debut in the 2005 Ashes series against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Pietersen left Nottinghamshire for
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
in 2005, but the England team's subsequent reliance on him resulted in Pietersen making only a single first-class appearance for his new county between 2005 and 2010. In June 2010, Pietersen announced his wish to leave Hampshire; he joined Surrey on loan for the remainder of the season, then moved permanently in 2011. Pietersen was captain of the England
Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
and ODI teams from 4 August 2008 to 7 January 2009, but resigned after just three Tests and nine ODIs following a dispute with the England coach Peter Moores, who was sacked the same day. Pietersen's relationship with the ECB never fully recovered. This came to a head in 2012 when, after a disagreement over his schedule, Pietersen announced his retirement from all forms of international limited-overs cricket on 31 May. Although he later retracted his retirement, his relationship with both the ECB and his team-mates soured during the series against South Africa, and he was dropped for the final Test of that series. Pietersen last played for England in the 2013–14 Ashes and subsequent ODIs, after which he was informed that he was no longer being considered for international selection. He also played for the
Melbourne Stars Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...
in the
Big Bash League The Big Bash League (BBL), also known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Australia. Established in 2011 by Cricket Australia, the Big Bash League replaced the previous competitio ...
until the end of BBL, 07 (seventh season), the Quetta Gladiators in the
Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL), also known as HBL PSL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan, organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Founded by the PCB in 2015, the league features six city-bas ...
as well as the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in the CSA T20 Challenge. He was also signed by the
Rising Pune Supergiants Rising Pune Supergiant (often abbreviated as RPS) was a franchise cricket team based in Pune, Maharashtra, that played in the Indian Premier League in 2016 and as a finalist in 2017. It was the second team representing Pune after Pune Warriors ...
for the 2016 season of the
Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
. Pietersen is one of the fastest batsman to reach 1,000 ODI runs and still holds the record for being the fastest player to cross 2,000 runs in One Day International cricket. He has the second-highest run total from his first 25 Tests, behind only Sir Don Bradman of Australia,Brenkley, Stephen.
Second Test: Pietersen plunders before the collapse
", ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 27 May 2007. Retrieved on 27 May 2007.
and was the fastest player, in terms of days, to reach 4,000, 5,000 and 7,000 Test runs. He became only the third English batsman to top the ICC One Day International rankings, doing so in March 2007. In July 2008, after a century against South Africa, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' called him "the most complete batsman in cricket" and in 2012 ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' called him "England's greatest modern batsman". On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.


Early and personal life

Pietersen was born in
Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...
,
Natal Province The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organised int ...
, South Africa, to an English mother, Penny, and an
Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...
father, Jannie. Pietersen had a strict and disciplined childhood, along with his three brothers Tony, Greg and Bryan; he learned valuable lessons from this "fantastic" approach to parenting, and said: "Discipline is good. It taught me that I didn't always have to have what I wanted; that what I needed was different from what I wanted."Cooke, Rachel.
'I was up at six. I've a party to go to. So what is it you want?'
, ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'', 1 October 2006. Retrieved on 28 May 2007.
Bryan played club and second XI cricket in England. A forearm injury at 11 years old meant Pietersen could not play rugby, but he played
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
, tennis and squash, which also made his right arm very strong for batting. Pietersen attended
Maritzburg College Maritzburg College is a State school, semi-private English language, English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest boys' high school i ...
,
Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...
, and made his
first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
debut for Natal's B team in 1997, aged 17, where he was regarded predominantly as an
off spin Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to r ...
bowler and a hard-hitting lower-order batsman.Brenkley, Stephen.
Pietersen faces sternest test on home turf
." ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 11 February 2005. Retrieved on 29 May 2007.
Borland, Ken.
Nottinghamshire sign young South African
, ESPNcricinfo, 3 October 2000. Retrieved on 28 May 2007.
After two seasons, he moved to England for a five-month spell as the overseas player for club side Cannock CC, helping them win the Birmingham and District Premier League in 2000.Pietersen in cricket club row
", '' Express & Star'', 6 September 2006. Retrieved on 28 May 2007.
This first spell away from home did not leave him with fond memories for England, in particular "those horrible Black Country accents" referring to a dialect of the West Midlands, living in a single room above a squash court, and working in the club bar. However, he returned to newly renamed KwaZulu Natal side a better cricketer; a lack of opportunities to bowl had improved his batting. Having seen Pietersen play at a school cricket festival,
Clive Rice Clive Edward Butler Rice (23 July 1949 – 28 July 2015) was a South African international cricketer. An all-rounder, Rice ended his First Class cricket career with a batting average of 40.95 and a bowling average of 22.49. He captained Notti ...
invited him to sign for
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Nottinghamshire. The club's limited overs team is called th ...
. Pietersen accepted without hesitation, keen to make the most of top-class cricket under a coach for whom he had the utmost admiration. He did not at this stage contemplate forsaking his nation; it had not yet occurred to him that the decision would have to be taken. Pietersen is widely portrayed in the media as having a self-assured personality, described by Geoffrey Boycott as being "cocky and confident". Former England test captain
Michael Vaughan Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England cricket captain, England captain for the England test team, test team from 2003 to 2008 ...
counters this, saying, "KP is not a confident person. He obviously has great belief in his ability but that's not quite the same thing... And I know KP wants to be loved. I try to text him and talk to him as often as I can because I know he is insecure." He has been noted for unusual haircuts, with his peroxide blonde-dyed streak of hair along the middle of his head during the 2005 Ashes series being described as a "dead skunk" look. During the 2006–07 Ashes tour, the Australian team, noted for their efforts to dominate opponents psychologically, dubbed him "The Ego", or "FIGJAM" (Fuck I'm Good, Just Ask Me). Other nicknames include "KP", "Kelves" and "Kapes". Pietersen is married to former Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor. The couple married on 29 December 2007 at St Andrew's Church in
Castle Combe Castle Combe is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is around north-west of Chippenham and north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had ...
, Wiltshire, with former England team-mate
Darren Gough Darren Gough (born 18 September 1970) is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's second highest wicket-taker in one-d ...
acting as best man. Jessica gave birth to the couple's first child, a son, in 2010. Pietersen travelled back from touring with the England side in Barbados to be present at the birth. He arrived at the hospital just in time for the birth. Their second child, a daughter, was born in 2015. Pietersen took leave from playing for the
Melbourne Stars Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...
in the
Big Bash League The Big Bash League (BBL), also known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Australia. Established in 2011 by Cricket Australia, the Big Bash League replaced the previous competitio ...
in Australia to be present for the birth. Pietersen considers South Africa his first home and England his second home, and the family split their time between
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
and the Sabie River.


Domestic career


Early years in South Africa

He impressed members of
Nasser Hussain Nasser Hussain (born 28 March 1968) is an English cricket commentator and former player who captained the England cricket team between 1999 and 2003, with his overall international career extending from 1990 to 2004. A pugnacious right-hande ...
's England side when playing for KwaZulu Natal in 1999; he took four top-order wickets and, despite batting at number nine, scored 61
not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...
from 57 balls, hitting four sixes. Hussain then recommended that Pietersen secure a contract with an English county side. Despite the praise from the England side, Pietersen claimed he was dropped from the Natal first team. Pietersen felt that this was due to the country's racial quota system, in which provincial sides were required to have at least four black players.Pietersen in the eye of a storm
, ESPNcricinfo, 1 December 2006; Retrieved on 4 June 2007
Pietersen's view was that players should be judged on merit, and described it as "heartbreaking" when he was left out of the side, although he later reflected "it turned out it was the best thing that could have happened". However, in the 1999-2000 Supersport series, from four matches Pietersen only averaged 10.75 with the bat, and took 10 wickets at an expensive 37.50, which were not enough to cement his place in the KwaZulu Natal side. Nonetheless, Pietersen has since firmly criticised the quota system, which he feels forced him out of the country of his birth. He has also criticised
Graeme Smith Graeme Craig Smith (born 1 February 1981) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa national cricket team, South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed Captain (cricket), captain of the So ...
, who became captain of the South African side in 2003, calling him "an absolute muppet, childish and strange" and that his behaviour "leaves a lot to be desired". Smith opposed this, saying, "I'm patriotic about my country, and that's why I don't like Kevin Pietersen. The only reason that Kevin and I have never had a relationship is because he slated South Africa". Pietersen's outspoken views published in his autobiography, ''Crossing the Boundary'', in September 2006, and in an interview for the South African edition of '' GQ'' magazine, led to unsuccessful calls for an ICC investigation regarding bringing the game into disrepute.


English domestic career


Nottinghamshire

In 2000,
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
coach
Clive Rice Clive Edward Butler Rice (23 July 1949 – 28 July 2015) was a South African international cricketer. An all-rounder, Rice ended his First Class cricket career with a batting average of 40.95 and a bowling average of 22.49. He captained Notti ...
, who had seen Pietersen play in 1997 in South Africa at a schools week, heard that Pietersen was playing club cricket for the Cannock Cricket Club and offered him a three-year contract to play for the county. His maiden first-class century came on his Nottinghamshire debut against Loughborough UCCE.Collins, Sam.
Rise of a star
", ESPNcricinfo; Retrieved on 28 May 2005
In his first season, he made 1,275 runs with an impressive
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
of 57.95,Booth, Lawrence.
Southern comfort
,
The Wisden Cricketer ''The Wisden Cricketer'' was the world's best-selling monthly cricket magazine. It was incorporated in 2003, by a merger between '' The Cricketer'' magazine and '' Wisden Cricket Monthly''. It is now no longer connected to Wisden and is called ' ...
, April 2004; Retrieved on 28 May 2007
including 218 not out in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 352 with John Morris at
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
in July, after having been out lbw for a
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
in the first innings. These performances led to praise in the ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...
'': "If he can maintain his first season's form, the name of Pietersen should be pencilled in for future Test squads." This form did indeed continue into the following year: he made another unbeaten double-century, against
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, taking part in a partnership of 316 for the fourth wicket with Darren Bicknell. This period proved to be a purple patch for the batsman, scoring four consecutive centuries (254 not out, 122, 147 and 116) in one week in August. In 2003, Pietersen scored 1,546 first-class runs, and 764 runs in
limited overs cricket Limited overs cricket, also known as white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed within one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty20 cricket (3-h ...
. He was selected for the 2003/04 ECB National Academy tour of India, and had a successful tour scoring 523 runs including three centuries in his six first-class innings to record an average of 104.60, and making 131 in a one-day match against India A in
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
. After Nottinghamshire were relegated in 2003, Pietersen requested a release from his contract, saying "I haven't been happy for a while....The pitch at
Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...
has been one of my problems... I could have done so much better if the wicket had been good." This led to a public row with club captain Jason Gallian, where Gallian allegedly threw Pietersen's kit off the
Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...
balcony and broke his bat:
During the game I told the captain that I was not happy and that I wanted to leave. After the game we spoke in the dressing room and then I went to have dinner. I got a call saying the captain had trashed my equipment. I was told the captain had said, 'if he does not want to play for Notts he can f*** off.' I have not spoken to Gallian since, nor have I received an apology.
Pietersen was made to honour the last year of his contract at Nottinghamshire, but "didn't enjoy it at all".


Hampshire

In October 2004, he joined
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
under the captaincy of
Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
. After becoming a regular in the national side, Pietersen rarely got an opportunity to play domestic cricket. Having an England "central contract" meant that Pietersen was only released to play for Hampshire at the discretion of the national coach. After being left out of the national side to face
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
in May 2005, Pietersen had several good innings in the English
County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...
, including two centuries. He only played twice for the county in 2006, and appeared just once in 2007, with an unbeaten 66 against
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Pietersen's last first-class match for Hampshire came in the 2008 County Championship against
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, where he scored 100 runs in Hampshire's first innings, and following the birth of his son, a desire to stay in London led to him announcing he would leave Hampshire at the end of the 2010 season.


Surrey

Pietersen then joined
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
on loan from Hampshire for the remainder of the 2010 English county cricket season. He scored a century in his first Clydesdale Bank 40 appearance against
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, with 116 off 105 deliveries. It was his first limited overs century since 2008, and his first century of any kind since March 2009. He subsequently signed permanently for Surrey from the 2011 season onwards. Pietersen had also rejoined his old team in South Africa, the Dolphins, for a short stint in October 2010. In early 2015, Pietersen withdrew from the initial stages of the 2015 Indian Premier League, instead opting to play
County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...
matches, with the aim of playing for England again. After a meeting with
Andrew Strauss Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middl ...
, the new Director of Cricket for England, whilst not out on 326 overnight against Leicestershire, during which Strauss rejected any notions of a return for Pietersen, Pietersen resumed his innings the following day, scoring his highest first-class score of 355 *. On 19 July 2017 Pietersen returned to English domestic cricket when he joined Surrey for the NatWest t20 Blast. He scored 52 runs, including four consecutive sixes. He was replaced by a substitute fielder in the second innings. On 29 July Pietersen announced that he had decided to donate all his earnings towards
rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
conservation efforts. After being injured for the majority of the season, making only one further T20 appearance, Pietersen announced that he would leave Surrey, and English cricket as a whole, following the club's loss in the quarter finals to Birmingham Bears.


Overseas franchise cricket


Indian Premier League

In February 2014, Delhi Daredevils of
Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
bought Pietersen for US$1.5 million for the
2014 Indian Premier League The 2014 Indian Premier League season (abbreviated as IPL 7 or Pepsi IPL 2014) was the seventh season of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. ...
season, and he captained the team for that season. Pietersen had previously played for the Delhi Daredevils during the
2012 Indian Premier League The 2012 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 5 or the IPL 2012 or the DLF IPL 2012 (owing to title sponsorship reasons), was the fifth season of the Indian Premier League, initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCC ...
Season and had his most successful IPL season by scoring 305 runs at a strike rate of 147, which included a victorious knock of 103*. In the 2015 Indian Premier League auction, Pietersen was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for 2 Crore Rupees. However, Pietersen was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad prior to the start of the tournament, although he could play in the later stages of the 2015 Indian Premier League season. Plans to rejoin Hyderabad towards the end of the competition were curtailed due to injury.


Melbourne Stars

Pietersen was signed by the
Melbourne Stars Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...
in 2014–15 Big Bash League season, with a contract for 2 years; he was seen as a "big hit" for the 2014–15 Big Bash League season. On 18 December 2014, Kevin Pietersen played his first match in 2014–15 Big Bash League season as the no.3 batsmen, and scored 66 runs off 46 balls. In 2016, he helped the team beat two-time defending champion Perth Scorchers and advance to their first Grand Final and their fifth consecutive Finals series appearances. Pietersen also signed a two-year extension that took him through to the 2017–18 season.


Caribbean Premier League

Pietersen also played T20 cricket in the Caribbean Premier League, having signed for St Lucia Zouks for the
2014 Caribbean Premier League The 2014 Caribbean Premier League or for sponsorship reasons, Limacol CPL 2014 was the second season of the Caribbean Premier League, established by the West Indies Cricket Board. It began on 11 July and ended 16 August. Squads Points table ...
season.


Legends League Cricket

In Legends League Cricket he is playing for India Capitals.


Bicentenary celebration match

In July 2014, he played for the Rest of the World side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at
Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
. On 6 January 2018 Pietersen announced he would retire from all forms of cricket at the end of the 2018 season. In 2020, Pietersen came back and played in the Ultimate Cricket Challenge.


International career


England debut

Pietersen is eligible to play for England as he has an English mother. After a qualifying period of four years playing at English
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
level, he was called up almost immediately for his international debut against
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
in 2004. The tour of
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
caused several players to voice their concerns about the
Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...
regime, the security issues in the country and the standard of the
Zimbabwean Demographic features of the population of Zimbabwe include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Population The population of Zimbabwe ...
side.
Steve Harmison Stephen James Harmison, (born 23 October 1978) is an English former first-class cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODIs, and 2 T20s. He also played county cricket ...
was the first to boycott the tour for "political and sporting reasons", and all-rounder
Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977), is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-ord ...
was reported to be considering taking a moral stand himself. The England Chairman of Selectors David Graveney denied that the selectors would leave out players unhappy with touring Zimbabwe and would put their absences down to injury. Flintoff was, however, "rested" and Pietersen rushed into the squad "at the earliest opportunity". In the five match ODI series, Pietersen batted in three innings which included a score of 77 not out; he finished the series with an average of 104.00 as England won the series 4–0.


Success in South Africa

Pietersen was upset not to be initially in the squad to tour South Africa. With Flintoff withdrawing due to injury, Pietersen was recalled to the squad, and cemented his place in the first team with 97 off 84 balls in the warm-up match against South Africa A, in the face of a hostile crowd. Throughout the tour, Pietersen was subjected to a barrage of abuse from the South African crowd, who regarded him somewhat like a
traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
. He said:
I knew I was going to cop a lot of stick but it will be like water off a duck's back...I expected stick at the start of the innings, and I'm sure it will carry on through the whole series. But I just sat back and laughed at the opposition, with their swearing and 'traitor' remarks... some of them can hardly speak English. My affiliation is with England. In fact, I'm starting to speak too much like
Darren Gough Darren Gough (born 18 September 1970) is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's second highest wicket-taker in one-d ...
... In fact, I'm going to get one of Gough's tattoos with three lions and my number underneath...No one can say I'm not English.
Pietersen scored a 96-ball 108 not out in the tied second ODI at
Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...
, after which the crowd turned their backs on him as he returned to the pavilion. This score set his ODI average at an incredible record 234.00. He made 75 at
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, then at
East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...
Pietersen made an unbeaten 100 from only 69 balls, the fastest century by an England player in a one-day match,Thompson, Jenny.
Pietersen century all in vain
, ESPNcricinfo, 9 February 2005. Retrieved on 26 May 2007.
although England still lost by eight runs. In the final game at Centurion Park, Pietersen came to the wicket at 32/3 and scored 116, but again could not prevent a defeat. Pietersen ended the series, which England lost 4–1, with 454 runs in five innings, and the Player of the Series award. By the end of the series, the South African crowds had generally replaced hostility with respect for Pietersen, his final century being awarded a standing ovation. Despite press speculation, Pietersen was not picked for the
Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
against
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
—his early season form being dogged by a foot injury—but with his county form improving, he was selected for the
Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...
match against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
at
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, making 34 from 18 balls and taking three catches as England won by 100 runs. He was awarded 'man of the match'. In the triangular ODI series against Australia and Bangladesh, Pietersen did not get to bat in the first match at
The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...
as England won by 10 wickets, but scored 91 off 65 balls in the match in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
against Australia. In the remainder of the triangular series, Pietersen scored quickly, although without other half-centuries. In the final of the NatWest Series, he only made 6 as he finished the seven-match series with a total of 278 runs at an average of 46.33. Pietersen's performances sparked speculation over whether he would be brought into the Test side for
The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...
later in the summer. Later in July, Pietersen played in all three matches of the (ODI) NatWest Challenge against Australia. In the final match he was the top scorer for England with 74 runs; however, he was forced off the field in the third over of Australia's reply with a groin injury.


2005 Ashes triumph

Speculation over when Pietersen would play for the Test team was ended in July with the announcement by the England chairman of selectors, David Graveney, that Pietersen had been selected ahead of
Graham Thorpe Graham Paul Thorpe (1 August 1969 – 4 August 2024) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Surrey, and represented England in 100 Test matches. He also played 82 One Day Internationals (ODIs) including appearances at the ...
. He made his debut in the first Ashes Test at
Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
, becoming the 626th player to play for the national side. He came into bat at 18–3 and he made 57 on debut in his first innings. In the second innings, he similarly came in after a batting collapse and finished making a second half-century and finished the innings on 64 not out, becoming only the fourth player to top score in both innings on debut for England, the eighth England player to score a half-century in each innings on his debut, and the third cricketer to do so at Lord's.Lynch, Steven.
Pietersen's double debut double
", ESPNcricinfo, 1 August 2005. Retrieved on 27 May 2007.
England were thrashed by 239 runs before moving onto Edgbaston where he came in a more comfortable position scoring 71 in the first innings. He had a good partnership with
Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977), is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-ord ...
where the pair put on 103 very quickly. He made 20 in the second innings coming in at 31–4. He was involved in two controversial decisions: he gloved his first ball from
Brett Lee Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. With his time representin ...
, but the umpire turned down the appeal, and he was later given out to a ball from
Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
that hit his pad then elbow before being caught by
Adam Gilchrist Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and List of Australia national cricket captains, captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-h ...
. England won the match by two runs. In the drawn third Test, Pietersen had his first quiet match when he scored 21 in the first innings, getting caught on the boundary. Then, with England looking to push on he was dismissed lbw by Glenn McGrath for a golden duck. In the fourth test, at his former home ground
Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...
, he scored 45 in the first innings after facing 108 balls looking to build a big score. In the second innings chasing 129 to win, he was in at 57–4 when he scored 23 in a decent partnership again with Flintoff. He was dismissed when he was caught behind wafting at a ball outside off stump. However, England won and went 2–1 up. Under pressure to post a large score in the final Test at
The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...
, Pietersen did not contribute significantly in the first innings; he scored 14 as he was
bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, it is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batter. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batter, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. ...
by
Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
for the first time in his Test career . In the second innings, Pietersen was dropped on 0 by a combination of Gilchrist and Hayden, on 15 by his
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
colleague
Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
and after reaching fifty on 60 by Shaun Tait. He reached his maiden test century with a driven four off the bowling of Tait before making 158, eventually being dismissed by Glenn McGrath. This innings helped to secure the return of the Ashes to England. His innings included seven sixes, breaking Ian Botham's record for the most sixes by an English player in an Ashes innings. Pietersen was named
Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
for his efforts, and finished the series as top scorer, with 473 runs over the five Tests, an average of 52.55, which also was the highest in the series. However, he had a less successful series in the field, dropping six catches in the five Tests, a point he made wryly when questioned about the Australians dropping him three times on the final day. Pietersen was given an ECB central contract to reflect his place in the national side.


2005–06 winter tour

Pietersen had a less successful time in the three Test matches against
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, which England lost 2–0. He made little impact in the first and third test. His first Test match innings since his match winning 158 against Australia was brief as he was caught at short leg for 5. In the second innings, he was criticised for his dismissal. Chasing just 198, he was caught behind after a horrible slog on 19 as England went on to lose by 22 runs. In the third test, he made 34 before edging behind in the first innings. With England in difficulty, Pietersen edged
Danish Kaneria Danish Parabha Shankar Kaneria (; ), (born 16 December 1980) is a Pakistani former cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team between 2000 and 2010. A right-arm leg spinner who could bowl a googly, Kaneria played 61 Test match ...
to short leg when only on one, as England were to be defeated by an innings. He fared better in the second, however, making his second Test century in the first innings. He brought up his hundred with a six before next ball, he top-edged a pull and was out. In the next innings, with England needing to bat out a draw, England were 20–4 but he made 42 to help England get the draw. He was also performing well in the one-day series with two explosive innings of 56 from 39 balls to help England win the first ODI, and 28 from 27 balls in the second. The quick-scoring innings in the second ODI was to be Pietersen's last on the tour. A rib injury sustained in the first ODI proved too painful throughout the second, and Pietersen returned to England to recover fully for the tour of India. In March 2006, Pietersen played in the three Tests against
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, which England drew 1–1. In the first innings on 15, another rash shot brought his downfall. He pulled a ball from Sreesanth onto his stumps. His 87 in the second innings of the first match came during England's acceleration period, helping push the required target over 300. England then declared overnight, and India successfully batted out the final day to secure a draw. This half-century was followed by another in the first innings of the second Test. Again, he gave his wicket away on 64 when he offered Munaf Patel a return catch. The second innings was not so good, facing just 13 balls before being given out caught behind off a
Harbhajan Singh Harbhajan Singh (born 3 July 1980), also known by his nickname Bhajji, is a former Indian cricketer. He later became a politics, politician, serving as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha. He is also a fil ...
delivery. The unhappy Pietersen was later fined 30 percent of his match fee for shaking his head and showing signs of dissent.Pietersen fined for dissent
, ESPNcricinfo, 13 March 2006; Retrieved on 27 May 2007
Replays demonstrated that the ball that had dismissed him had brushed his forearm, not his glove, before ballooning up into the hands of
Rahul Dravid Rahul Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former cricket player, ex-captain and ex-coach of the Indian national cricket team. Known for his outstanding batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely re ...
at slip. But umpire Darrell Hair gave him out for 4 as England collapsed on the fourth afternoon. Pietersen posted a score of 39 in the first innings of the third test before he got a beauty from Sreesanth which moved and took the edge of the bat before being caught by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In the second innings, he posted 7 again being caught and bowled, this time by
Anil Kumble Anil Kumble (; born 17 October 1970) is a former Indian cricketer, captain, coach and commentator who played Test cricket, Test and One Day International cricket for his national team over an international career of 18 years. A right-arm leg sp ...
via a leading edge. Despite a quiet match for him, England won comfortably after a dismal 100 all out in India's second visit to the crease. In the one-day series, which England lost 5–1, he was top scorer for England in four out of the five matches he played, and had the highest average of any player with 58.20. His 71 in the second ODI took him past 1,000 ODI runs, equalling Viv Richards' record of 21 innings to reach this total.


Sri Lanka and Pakistan in England, 2006

In May 2006, Pietersen matched his highest Test score of 158 in the first match against
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. His innings was ended when he was lbw to Chaminda Vaas. In the second test he made 142 at
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...
. He made almost half of England's runs. After he made his hundred, his third six saw the introduction to the Switch hit, when he turned out and played a switch hit sweep off
Muttiah Muralitharan Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan (born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, businessman and former professional cricketer. Averaging over six wickets per Test match, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the ...
. This took him past the milestone of 1,000 Test runs, in his 12th Test match, and he became the first batsman since Graham Gooch in 1990 to score a century in three successive Test innings on English soil. This performance moved Pietersen into the top ten of the ICC cricket ratings. In the third test, he was twice removed by Murali. In the first innings, on 41, he top edged a sweep to short fine leg. In the second innings with England chasing 325, he was caught at short leg for just 6. Despite this, his performances in the first two tests earned him the England (Test match) Player of the Series. In the first and second tests of the
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
series, he got starts with the bat but did not get past 50. He was out lbw, offering no shot, in the first innings at Lords for 21. In the second innings, when England were pushing on, he played some nice strokes in his 41 before being stumped of the bowling of
Shahid Afridi Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (, ; born 1 March 197is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. An all-rounder, Afridi was a right-handed leg spinner and a right-handed batsman. Afridi made ...
. In the second test, he made 38 when he hit a half-volley loosely to point. In the third Test at
Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...
, he hit 135 runs from England's total of 515. In the final controversial test at
The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...
, on a horribly wet pitch, he got the second golden duck of his Test career when he edged behind. In the second innings, he made 96 before edging behind again before the test came to an unexpected early end. Pietersen bowled his first delivery in Test match cricket on 4 June, against Sri Lanka. His first Test wicket came against
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
later in the summer when Kamran Akmal got a thin edge through to Geraint Jones. Later in June, Pietersen scored 17 in the
Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...
International as England lost by 2 runs to Sri Lanka. The twenty over match against Pakistan was no better, Pietersen being
bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, it is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batter. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batter, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. ...
by Mohammad Asif for a golden duck as Pakistan helped themselves to a five-wicket victory.


England in Australia, 2006–07

In the much-anticipated Ashes series in Australia, Pietersen was hyped up as England's best player and this was justified as he scored 490 runs in five matches and averaged over fifty, despite Australia's obvious targeting of him. "I was interested to see how he would get on in Australia in 2006–07 on pitches with more bounce", wrote Warne, "because bowlers had tried to test him with the short ball. He was still England's best batsman."Warne 2008. He started well, in the First Test. Despite a failure of 16 in the first test, he produced a fine spell of batting with a good 92 in the second innings. This wasn't enough to save England from a 277 run defeat. In the second Test, he backed up his good form with a century in the Second Test in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, sharing a 310-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Paul Collingwood. When he was eventually run out, his first reaction was to "giggle" because it was the third time in his Test career that he had scored exactly 158 runs, which was, at that point, his highest Test score. However, he made 2 in a disastrous second innings collapse which cost England dear. In the third test, he was the only batsman to offer any resistance with 70 in the first innings and 60 not out in the second innings in a defeat which cost England the Ashes. However, he couldn't carry on that form as he failed to make a half-century in the final two tests as England lost 5–0. In the tour's sole Twenty20 match, Pietersen was run out on eleven as England lost by 77 runs. In the first One Day International of the 2006–07 Commonwealth Bank Series, on 12 January at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
, Pietersen was injured when a ball bowled by Glenn McGrath hit him on the ribs. Despite continuing his innings in some discomfort, making 82,
X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
s revealed a fracture, and Pietersen was forced to miss the rest of the series.


Career in 2007


2007 World Cup

In the
2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the 2 ...
, England started in Group C with a game against
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
in which KP made 60 before holing out. He made another 50 against Kenya but disappointedly made just 5 against Canada as England sealed qualification. He made 48 in the unconvincing win against Ireland. Pietersen made 58 against
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
before being caught and bowled by Murali. England lost that game by 2 runs before losing the next game against Australia by 7 wickets. Pietersen crafted 104 runs off 122 balls against Australia. It was the first World Cup century by an Englishman since 1996, and the first ever against Australia. His efforts in the World Cup helped him achieve the status of
International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
number-one ranked batsman in the world for ODIs. He then failed making 10 against Bangladesh and 3 against South Africa. England lost to South Africa meaning that England did not reach the semi-finals. In England's final match of the World Cup against the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, Pietersen made 100 from 91 balls, and effected the run-out of retiring captain
Brian Lara Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely renowned as one of the greatest Batting (cricket), batsmen of all time. He holds several cricketing records, including the record for the highest in ...
. This century took him past 2,000 ODI runs, in doing so equalling the record 51 matches set by Zaheer Abbas. He finished the tournament with 444 runs, at an average of 55.5, and was described as shining in the England team "like a 100 watt bulb in a room full of candles". He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by ESPNcricinfo.


West Indies in England

In the first test of the series he was dismissed for 26 again chasing a wide one when looking set also after 4 centuries were scored by England batsmen in the innings at
Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
, he then scored a hundred in the second innings when England were looking to accelerate. Pietersen posted his highest score of 226 in the second Test at
Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...
(it was scored in 262 balls, with 24 fours and 2 sixes), surpassing his previous best of 158 which he had achieved three times. With this score, Pietersen moved ahead of
Everton Weekes Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG, Gold Crown of Merit, GCM, Order of the British Empire, OBE (26 February 19251 July 2020) was a cricketer from Barbados. A right-handed batsman, he was known as one of the har ...
and Viv Richards to be the batsman with the second-highest run-total out of his first 25 Tests (behind
Don Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. His cricketing successes have been claimed by Shane ...
). It is also the highest Test score for England since Graham Gooch scored 333 against
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
in 1990. This innings subjected the West Indies to an innings and 283 runs defeat, their largest against any team. Pietersen, the Man of the Match, said, "I believe the recipe for success is hard work. I've been criticised for throwing my wicket away, and I tried to make it count here". In the third Test at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
, he carried on his bad run at the ground being bounced out twice for 9 and 68. In the second innings, Pietersen lost his wicket in a bizarre dismissal when West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo delivered a bouncer which knocked Pietersen's helmet off his head and onto his stumps. He is only the fourth batsman in Test cricket to be dismissed " hit wicket" as a result of headgear falling onto the stumps. This score took him past the 8,500 first-class runs mark, and 2,500 runs in Test cricket. In the final match of the series, he registered his third duck of his Test career in the first innings and 28 in the second innings as England won the series 3–0. In contrast, Pietersen's batting was poor in the following single innings matches; he scored a total of 77 runs in five matches (two Twenty20 and three ODI), recording a second-ball duck in the final ODI. He subsequently fell to second in the official One Day International batting rankings, behind
Ricky Ponting Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time and is the most successful captain in international cricket history, ...
. Pietersen himself commented that his lack of form was a result of "fatigue", and reiterated his calls for a less "hectic" match schedule.Pietersen blames fatigue for form
, BBC Sport. Retrieved on 12 July 2007.


India tour and Twenty20 Championship

Pietersen played in the first Test against
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and in the first innings, he made 37 but not without controversy. He edged the ball behind of Zaheer Khan to Dhoni. He walked, but after seeing replays on the screen, he walked back to the middle and the decision was overturned. Ironically, he was out shortly afterwards caught Dhoni, bowled Khan. In the second innings he was top scorer with a knock of 134 to set up a potential England victory. Pietersen described this as his best century, in very testing conditions. In the second test, he was twice lbw to RP Singh for 13 and 19 in a defeat which subsequently cost them the series. After making 41 in the first innings, Pietersen scored his 10th Test century in the third and final Test at the Oval, helping England to draw the game with 101. In the one-day series that followed, he struggled at the start with a top score of 33 not out in the first five matches of the series. He scored two half-centuries in the final matches including 71 not out in the final match at Lord's, hitting the winning runs to give England the series. Pietersen was also picked for and played in the Twenty20 Championship in South Africa. In England's first game against Zimbabwe on 13 September, Pietersen hit 79 runs off 37 balls, his highest Twenty20 score, including seven fours and four sixes (one of them being another switch-hit sweep for six) in an English total of 188–9. England won the match by 50 runs; however, this was to be Pietersen's largest contribution in the competition. He scored another 99 runs over four more matches, ending the series with an average of 35.60. He also scored the most England fours (17) and jointly held the record for the most England sixes (6) with Owais Shah. He also held the highest strike rate of any England batsman.


Sri Lanka 2007

Pietersen scored 50 in England's opening game in Sri Lanka against the Sri Lankan Cricket XI, but it took until the fourth ODI for Pietersen to find form, scoring 63 not out as England won their first series in Sri Lanka. This form was still fluctuating in the warm-up matches for the Test series, scoring 4, 1 and 59 against the Sri Lankan Cricket XI. This run continued in the Test matches when in the first test he got two starts with 31 and 18 but didn't go on. He was unfortunate as in the second innings on 18 he was bowled by a ball that kept low from Dilhara Fernando. In the second test he managed 45 not out to secure a draw in the 2nd Test. In the first innings, Pietersen's dismissal was to be the source of much controversy. He edged his fifth ball to
Chamara Silva Lindamlilage Prageeth Chamara Silva (; born 14 December 1979) is a former Sri Lankan people, Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all formats of the game for 12 years. He is a right-handed batsman and a leg-break bowler. He has been compared with A ...
at slip, who flicked the ball up for wicketkeeper
Kumar Sangakkara Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara (; born 27 October 1977) is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer who represented Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2015. A former captain in all formats. He was born in Matale, Central Province. In first-class cricke ...
to complete the catch. The two on-field umpires conferred over the validity of the catch, as it was unclear whether the ball had touched the ground ''prior'' to Silva flicking the ball up. Daryl Harper, standing at the bowler's end gave the decision that the wicket had been taken, but while walking off the field, Pietersen saw a replay on the big screen and questioned the validity of the decision. This led for calls for similar catches to be referred to the third (TV) umpire, but this can only take place if the on-field umpires have not made a decision. Pietersen passed 3,000 Test runs during the series, becoming the fastest player (by time) to do so,Test matches – Fastest to 3000 runs
ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved on 24 June 2008.
though he only averaged 25.20, and failed to score a half century in a series for the first time.


Career in 2008


New Zealand tours (home and away)

On England's tour against
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, Pietersen averaged 33.00 in the ODI series, with one score of 50 in the tied fourth match; England lost the series 3–1. He also made a top score of 43 in the first of two comfortable
Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...
matches. Pietersen had a quiet first two Test matches, making little impression with the bat. He produced 42 and 6 as England collapsed in their second innings. In the next test, he fared little better making 31 and 17. However, in the first innings of the Napier Test he rescued England from a disastrous start of 4–3, guiding them to 259 with 129, his 11th Test century. New Zealand then came to tour England and Pietersen again struggled in the first two Test matches, scoring 3 in the first match. He improved slightly in the second but only making 26 in the first innings and then running himself out on 42 having looked well set. He seemed to be struggling particularly against
Daniel Vettori Daniel Luca Vettori (born 27 January 1979) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the New Zealand national cricket team. He was the 200th player to win their Test cricket cap for New Zealand and an inductee in the Ne ...
but he showed no signs of that as he struck a century in the third Test, forming a valuable partnership with Tim Ambrose, making a crucial 115. Pietersen hit a winning 42 not out in the Twenty20 match.


Switch-hit

In the first ODI of the NatWest series, Pietersen hit two sixes by "switch-hitting" en route to 110 not out. While facing the bowling of medium pace Scott Styris, Pietersen turned his body around and switched hands (effectively batting as a left-hander) hitting two sixes over cover and long off. Because Pietersen not only reversed his hand position (as some batsman do while playing the reverse sweep), but changed his stance by rotating his body, these "switch-hit" shots were immediately followed by calls to outlaw them from the game. Although a similar shot was played when Pietersen reverse-swept
Muttiah Muralitharan Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan (born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, businessman and former professional cricketer. Averaging over six wickets per Test match, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the ...
for six in Sri Lanka in 2006, in this case he switched hands and executed "the switch" before the ball was bowled. Several commentators complained that because Pietersen changed from being a right-handed to a left-handed batsman as the bowler approached his delivery stride, he was gaining an unfair advantage. Gideon Haigh said that "A bowler must advise a batsman when he's changing direction, why should the batsmen not; given that where the bowler's aiming will depend on the placement of the off stump".
Ian Healy Ian Andrew Healy (born 30 April 1964) is an Australian former international cricketer who played for Queensland domestically. A wicketkeeper and right-hand middle-order batsman, he first played international cricket in 1988, after six first ...
seconded this by saying "It just should be outlawed straightaway. If you want to hit to one side of the field, you've got to do it in a cross fashion, and not swap the way you're facing or your grip. Otherwise you are going to start to allow the bowlers to go round the wicket, over the wicket, and keep swapping during their run-ups." Former fast-bowler
Michael Holding Michael Anthony Holding (born 16 February 1954) is a Jamaican former cricketer and commentator who played for the West Indies cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in cricket history, he was nicknamed "Whispering De ...
argued "if the batsman can change from being right-handed to left-handed, there shouldn't be a problem with a bowler changing from being right-handed to left-handed, either, without having to tell the umpire, nor should he have to tell the umpire if he is going over or round the wicket." Pietersen countered these claims by saying:
"That's ridiculous, absolutely stupid. The reverse-sweep has been part of the game for however long. I am just fortunate that I am able to hit it a bit further. Everybody wants brand new ideas, new inventions and new shots. That is a new shot played today and people should be saying it's a new way to go. There are new things happening for cricket at the moment and people shouldn't be criticising it all the time."
Another citation for the shot being outlawed was that the possibility of being out LBW ("a player is out LBW if...the ball pitches in line between wicket and wicket or on the off side of the striker's wicket") is removed, as the off side become the leg side and vice versa. The shots were considered by the
Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...
(MCC), governors of the game, who came to the conclusion that the shot was legal, believing that the LBW law (which continues "The off side of the striker's wicket shall be determined by the striker's stance at the moment the ball comes into play for that delivery") adequately covers the scenario. They cited the variations bowlers can make, such as bowling a googly or a slower ball, and also the inherent risk in the shot to the batsman, in the justification of their decision. There are still calls for further review of the stroke, with Jonathan Agnew giving a scenario in which a right-handed batsman can take his stance as a left-hander, then switch stance as the bowler runs in, thus being able to kick away any balls that land outside his now off stump. He also calls for the wide law to be adjusted in one-day cricket, as bowlers are penalised for most deliveries that pass down the leg side.


England captaincy


Success against South Africa

Pietersen captained England in the fifth ODI against New Zealand after
Paul Collingwood Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England cricket team, England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood was a ...
was banned for four games for a slow over-rate during the previous match. Pietersen was named as the stand-in captain for three further matches in August. With
Michael Vaughan Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England cricket captain, England captain for the England test team, test team from 2003 to 2008 ...
as captain for the first three tests, Pietersen seemed to thrive in his first Test series against his former countrymen scoring 152 in the opening match of the series. During the third Test against South Africa, Pietersen was criticised for throwing his wicket away attempting a six to complete a century when on 94. Jonathan Agnew and
Alec Stewart Alec James Stewart (born 8 April 1963) is an English former cricketer, and former captain of the England cricket team, who played Test cricket and One Day Internationals as a right-handed wicket-keeper-batsman. He is the fifth-most- capped En ...
called the stroke "irresponsible" and Agnew continued, suggesting that Pietersen therefore ruled himself out of the potential reckoning for the England captaincy with
Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...
's place in the starting line-up in doubt after failing to score runs. In the event, having lost the match, Vaughan resigned and Pietersen was made the permanent captain of both the Test and ODI sides (
Paul Collingwood Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England cricket team, England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood was a ...
relinquished the ODI captaincy at the same time). Following the news that he had been made England Test and ODI captain, Pietersen paid tribute to both outgoing captains but announced that he would look to captain the team in his own style. He scored a century in his debut match as captain in the dead rubber fourth Test, and went on to defeat South Africa 4–0 in the ODI matches. In that series he made 90 not out and got 2–22 with the ball. In the fourth ODI, another dead rubber as England were 3–0 up, he hit a quick 40 to guide England to victory.


Derailment in India

Pietersen continued to lead the team during a 5–0 defeat to India in ODI matches; the series was supposed to consist of seven matches, but was abandoned after the fifth due to the
2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks, also referred to as 26/11 attacks, were a series of coordinated Islamic terrorism, Islamist terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist o ...
. Pietersen however had a decent series with the bat hitting a quick 63 in the first match and 111 not out in the fifth match. Pietersen's men returned to England before resuming the tour amid unprecedented security, to play a two-Test series. Pietersen was highly vocal in regards to the resumption of the tour, citing a need to stand up to terrorism. He had an aggregate of 5 runs in 2 innings in the first test being dismissed by
Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. An all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox, he has won 7 Player of the Se ...
in the second innings which showed Pietersen's struggles against Yuvraj from the ODI series carried on. England were defeated in the first, but recovered to draw the second with Pietersen scoring 144. In January 2009, following England's losses in India, the media reported that Pietersen had asked the
England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...
(ECB) to hold emergency meetings to discuss Moores' coaching role with the team. Days later, Pietersen made remarks to the media about there being an 'unhealthy situation' that needed to be resolved in the England camp. The media speculated that Moores would shortly be replaced if there was a Pietersen–Moores rift. Moores and Pietersen were believed to be in disagreement on several issues, including the team's training regimen, and the possible selection of former England captain
Michael Vaughan Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England cricket captain, England captain for the England test team, test team from 2003 to 2008 ...
for the upcoming tour of the West Indies. On 7 January 2009, Moores was removed as England's coach by the ECB, and Pietersen unexpectedly resigned as captain. In the immediate aftermath of Pietersen's resignation, several commentators connected with English cricket indicated that they believed that Pietersen had miscalculated by openly advocating for the removal of Moores, particularly in making their dispute public. In an interview several days after his resignation, Pietersen revealed that he had not intended to resign as captain, but was told by ECB officials that he was resigning. Dennis Amiss, the vice-chairman of the ECB, went on record backing up Pietersen in his statement that the story of the rift with Moores had not been leaked to the media by him, saying, "We don't believe Kevin Pietersen leaked the information, we understand his frustration at it being leaked by other parties." Pietersen was captain for three Test matches, and 10 One Day International matches. It was announced that
Andrew Strauss Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middl ...
would take over the captaincy.


Career in 2009


England in West Indies

Pietersen's first match after resigning from the captaincy garnered much media attention, played in the Caribbean during England's tour of the West Indies under the new captain, Strauss. Though Pietersen scored 97 in the first innings of the first Test, West Indies had a lead of 74 and England were bowled out for 51 with Pietersen making only one, being bowled by an out-swinger by Jerome Taylor as England collapsed to an innings defeat. After the second Test was abandoned, Pietersen made 51 in a quickly scheduled 'third' Test. His good form carried on as he scored 72 not out to give England the draw at Barbados. In the fifth and final Test, with England needing to win, Pietersen hit his quickest test century with 102 off 92 balls. He struggled in the one-day series that followed with his top score being 48.


Indian Premier League

In February 2009, Royal Challengers Bangalore of the
Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
bought Pietersen for US$1,550,000, which made him the highest-paid IPL player along with
Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977), is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-ord ...
. The following month RCB owner Vijay Mallya announced that Pietersen would succeed
Rahul Dravid Rahul Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former cricket player, ex-captain and ex-coach of the Indian national cricket team. Known for his outstanding batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely re ...
as captain. He won two out of his six matches in charge before leaving to fulfil his international commitments with England;
Anil Kumble Anil Kumble (; born 17 October 1970) is a former Indian cricketer, captain, coach and commentator who played Test cricket, Test and One Day International cricket for his national team over an international career of 18 years. A right-arm leg sp ...
took over the captaincy and led the Bangalore team to the IPL final. Kevin Pietersen was later bought by Deccan Chargers for the 2011 season and was sold to Delhi Daredevils in the 2012 season without having played a single game for the Chargers.


West Indies and the ICC World Twenty20

Pietersen began 2009 with questions over his form, where many pundits viewed him to be in a slump. He was dismissed first ball in the first Test against the touring West Indies side dismissed by the full, swinging ball (a delivery which he seemed to struggle against), but in the second Test made a quick 49 before falling to an attacking shot. He then suffered what seemed only a minor right Achilles injury and was subsequently ruled out of the ODI series, which England also won. In June 2009, Pietersen played in England's World Twenty20 warm-up match against
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, registering an unbeaten 53 in a six-wicket England victory. He also appeared in the news after accidentally hitting a 15-year-old school boy with a cricket ball from a straight-drive after the boy had bowled to him. Pietersen left the boy, from
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, with a signed bat as compensation. Pietersen's Achilles injury began flared up ahead of England's first Twenty20 match, against the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
not long after. In Pietersen's absence, England incurred a historic loss against the Dutch. He returned for the second match against Pakistan and top scored with 58 off 38 balls and hit 3 sixes (one of which was measured at over 100m) in the 48 run victory, he also top scored in the three run win over India later in the competition. Despite missing the first match Pietersen ended the tournament as England's leading runscorer with 154 at an average of 38.50. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by ESPNcricinfo for the 2009 T20I World Cup.


2009 Ashes

Pietersen joined the England Ashes squad in June 2009 for the upcoming 2009 Ashes series. Despite failing to surpass single figure scores during a warm-up match against Warwickshire, he helped England to a score over 400 on 8 July during the first day of the first Test at the
SWALEC Stadium The Cardiff Wales Stadium, which is part of Sophia Gardens Cardiff ( ; ), is a cricket stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It is located in Sophia Gardens on the River Taff. It is home to Glamorgan County Cricket Club and is listed as an international ...
,
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
with 69 before being dismissed by Nathan Hauritz, top-edging a sweep to a ball outside off stump; the dismissal was heavily criticised. He also seemed to flare up his Achilles injury again suddenly which hampered his batting a bit. In the second innings he was bowled for 8 after leaving a straight ball from Ben Hilfenhaus. Many pundits thought the criticism of England's key batsman from the first innings possibly affected him. In the first innings at Lords, after proving his fitness, he came at 222–2 and played some trademark shots before being caught behind off Peter Siddle. In the second innings he came in when England had a lead of almost 300 and he and Ravi Bopara batted for time. Pietersen limped when he ran and many shots ran off the inside edge which raised serious doubts for the rest of the series. He actually did well to reach 44 before being caught behind off Siddle again. After struggling in the field as England won, Pietersen was ruled out of the rest of the series with an Achilles injury. This brought to an end 54 consecutive Test matches. As his recovery slowed, Pietersen was not included in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy and Andy Flower speculated that due to an infection of the wound Pietersen "may miss this winter's tour of South Africa because of slow progress in recovery from surgery."


Career in 2010

Pietersen returned from injury in time to play a part in the 2009–10 winter tour of South Africa. His contributions, nevertheless, were significantly below his pre-injury range with an average of just 27. He showed several lapses of concentration, leading some to suggest that off-field distractions and lingering issues with his removal from the captaincy were still affecting his form. Pietersen went into the two-match tour of Bangladesh on the back of poor performances on his return from injury and led to speculation Pietersen's England place was under pressure. However, an important first innings of 99 in the first Test and a series clinching score of 74 not out in the second, during a stand of 167 not out with
Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English former cricketer and former captain (cricket), captain of the England Test Cricket, Test and One-Day International, ODI teams. He is considered one of the greatest opening batsmen ...
, saw Pietersen return to much more respectable figures. England won the series 2–0 and Pietersen finished with total runs of 250 and an average for the series of 83.33. Pietersen joined up with his Royal Challengers Bangalore team following the conclusion to England's tour of Bangladesh. Pietersen showed further signs of a return to form in the IPL by scoring 236 runs with a high score of 66 *, with an average of 59.00, which was the highest in the IPL.


2010 ICC World Twenty20

Pietersen was selected in England's 15-man squad for the
2010 ICC World Twenty20 The 2010 ICC World Twenty20 was the third edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament that was held in the West Indies between 30 April and 16 May 2010. It was wo ...
in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
. Pietersen's tournament got off to a poor start as he made was dismissed for
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
by Rory Kleinveldt in a warm up match. In England's first match against the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, Pietersen started confidently scoring 24 from 20 balls before being dismissed on the
pull Pull may refer to: Sports *In baseball, a pull hitter is a batter who usually hits the ball to the side of the field from which he bats * Pull shot, a batting stroke in cricket * A phase of a swim stroke * A throw-off in the sport of ultimate ...
by Darren Sammy. Against
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, he struggled to get going, scoring a slow 9 from 18 balls. In England's super eights match against
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
he scored 73 * from 52 balls, guiding England to a 6 wicket win. In the following super eights match against
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, Pietersen scored an aggressive 53 runs from 33 balls, contributing to a 94 run partnership with Craig Kieswetter and a 39 run victory for England. For his performance, he was named man of the match. Following the conclusion of this match, Pietersen returned home to England to be present at the birth of his son. Pietersen returned in time for England's semi-final against
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, where he scored a vital 42* from 26 balls, guiding England home to a 7 wicket victory and a place in their first ICC tournament final since the
2004 ICC Champions Trophy The 2004 ICC Champions Trophy was held in England in September 2004. Twelve teams competed in 15 matches spread over 16 days at three venues: Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Edgbaston, Rose Bowl (cricket ground), The Rose Bowl and The Oval. The nation ...
. In the final against old foes
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, he scored 47 runs from 31 balls, which included 4 fours and 1 six. Pietersen shared in a vital stand of 111 with Kieswetter, before holing out to David Warner off the bowling of Steve Smith. Pietersen's knock was vital in helping England secure a 7 wicket victory and their first ever major ICC tournament victory. After the match Pietersen was named man of the series for his vital contributions with the bat, which ended with Pietersen being the second highest run scorer with 248 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 137.77.


Bangladesh, Australia and Pakistan

Pietersen played in the Bangladesh home series, however contributed only 18 in the first innings before assisting England in chasing down a modest total with 10*. He made 64 in the second Test, however. After the Test series, attention was drawn to Pietersen's lack of games for Hampshire – having not played a County Championship at the Rose Bowl since 2005. Having made one Twenty20 appearance for them against
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
after the Bangladesh Test series, it was announced that he would be leaving Hampshire, stating that "Geographically it just doesn't work. I live in Chelsea." On 22 June, Pietersen played his 100th ODI against Australia at his home ground, the Rose Bowl. Pietersen struggled for form in an ODI series against Australia and then a Test series against Pakistan. England beat Australia 3–2, but Pietersen could only manage a top-score of 33. England beat Pakistan 3–1, and although Pietersen top-scored for England with 80 in the second Test, it was the only time he passed 50 and ended the series with a golden duck. His poor form, and an admission by Pietersen before the final Test that he was low on confidence, led to many in the media, including Geoffrey Boycott, to suggest that Pietersen could do with playing County Cricket to regain his form before the 2010–11 Ashes series. Pietersen was omitted from both of England's limited-overs squads to face Pakistan. However, the ECB brokered a loan move to
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
for the remainder of the 2010 English cricket season which enables him to play first-class cricket whilst the England side plays Pakistan in the limited overs leg of the tour. Pietersen announced the omission and loan-move to Surrey early through a Twitter message, which contained a swear-word and was quickly removed, and he apologised the following day. The online outburst drew some criticism of him, with national selector Geoff Miller one of those criticising the message. During the lead up to the 2010/11 Ashes Series Pietersen signed up for two first-class games in the South African competition with the KwaZulu Natal Dolphins.


The Ashes in Australia

Pietersen went into the 2010–11 Ashes series without a century since March 2009, and many felt that England would be unable to retain the Ashes unless he found form. In the first Test at
the Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Pietersen hit 43 in the first innings but wasn't required in the second as England posted 517–1 declared before a draw was declared. In the second Test in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, where he hit 158 on the previous Ashes tour, Pietersen joined opener
Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English former cricketer and former captain (cricket), captain of the England Test Cricket, Test and One-Day International, ODI teams. He is considered one of the greatest opening batsmen ...
(148) to make a century partnership before going on to score his 17th Test century. He finished with 227, a Test-best and his second Test double-century, as England declared on 620–5. Given a rare bowl at the end of the fourth day, Pietersen claimed the wicket of Michael Clarke (80) to leave Australia 238–4. England then proceeded to bowl Australia out in the final morning to win by an innings and 71 runs, and Pietersen was named man-of-the-match.


2011 ODI series against Australia

In the ODI series that followed the Ashes Test Series Pietersen's performance was solid in the first ODI at the MCG. His team high score of 78 helping England to post a traditionally competitive near 300 score. England were however defeated by the chasing Australians after Shane Watson's monumental 161 not out. After making a first ball duck in the second ODI at Hobart Pietersen's fitness once again became an issue and he missed the third ODI due to a "groin strain". The fourth ODI, despite Pietersen making only 12 with the bat, was won by England. On 29 January Kevin announced to the media that England could make a miraculous comeback to win the series from 3–1 down. In the three remaining matches (all England defeats) Pietersen scored 40, 29 and 26 respectively. Australia won the seven match ODI series 6–1.


Career in 2011

Pietersen was part of England's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka between February and March. In the warm-up matches he was asked to open the batting in anticipation that he would assume the position for the whole tournament. He had opened the batting just six times in one-day games and never for England, although had done so for England A in 2004. Pietersen returned home early due to injury. A
hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...
required immediate surgery and the recovery time of around six weeks meant he would miss the rest of the tournament and potentially the IPL. Eoin Morgan took Pietersen's place in the squad. Pietersen earned some criticism after being sighted at a nightclub in London while injured, however he dismissed the criticism as unwarranted. He returned from injury for the home series against Sri Lanka in May 2011. Pietersen was also picked to play against
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
in July 2011, and scored 202 not out at
Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
in the 1st Test. During the innings, Pietersen passed 6,000 runs in Tests. The feat took exactly six years, which is the fastest in terms of time taken, and 128 innings. In the fourth Test he scored 175 runs and shared a partnership of 350 runs with Ian Bell. Pietersen was rested for the ODI series against that followed the Tests.


Career in 2012


Sri Lanka and the IPL

Pietersen played a pivotal role in England's tour of Sri Lanka. By scoring a century in the second of two Tests, not only did he move to 20 centuries for England, but he levelled the series at 1–1, ensuring England retain their No.1 Test Ranking status. On 10 April, Pietersen started his first match in the
2012 Indian Premier League The 2012 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 5 or the IPL 2012 or the DLF IPL 2012 (owing to title sponsorship reasons), was the fifth season of the Indian Premier League, initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCC ...
for his new team, the Delhi Daredevils. He scored his maiden century in that format during the tournament. In May 2012, Pietersen was fined for a Twitter outburst against ex-England opener, Nick Knight. He commented "Can somebody please tell me how Knight has worked his way into the commentary box for Tests? Ridiculous" and despite attempts by Cook to "downplay" the incident, the ECB elected to uphold the fine. It was Pietersen's second controversial use of the social media system following the incident in September 2010 where he announced his own dropping from the one-day team, for which he was also fined.


Retirement from ODI and T20

On 31 May 2012, Pietersen announced his retirement from one-day international cricket. Although he intended to still play Twenty20s for England, and especially the World Twenty20 tournament in September 2012, the terms of his central contract meant that he had to retire from both forms. Remaining available for Test cricket only, Pietersen said that "with the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the World Cup in 2015." This announcement came on the back of his 80 against the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
at Trent Bridge as England took an unassailable 2–0 lead in the three-Test series. However, on 9 July 2012, Pietersen reversed his decision and suggested that he may return to ODIs in the future.


South Africa in the summer of 2012

After the second Test against
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
during the latter's tour of England in the summer of 2012, in which Pietersen scored his 21st Test century (149) and took Test-best bowling figures (3–52), Pietersen suggested that the third and final Test of that series might be his last. In the same press conference, he also mentioned issues within the dressing room that needed to be resolved. In the following days, allegations were made that he sent defamatory text messages to members of the South African dressing room, with Strauss and Flower said to be referred to within the messages. Following talks with the ECB, however, Pietersen then unreservedly committed his future to all forms of cricket for England in a video interview posted on YouTube. He was dropped for the third Test after failing to provide clarification about those messages, despite announcement of the squad being delayed to provide more time for him to do so. He was replaced by
Jonny Bairstow Jonathan Marc Bairstow (born 26 September 1989) is an English cricketer who played internationally for England cricket team, England in all formats as a right-handed wicket-keeper-batter. In domestic cricket, he has played for Yorkshire County C ...
.


Reintegration and comeback

In October 2012, ECB confirmed that they had a process which could lead to Pietersen's return to the English cricket team. This led to Pietersen's selection as part of the Test squad later that month. He toured India with a successful England team under Cook, scoring 338 runs in four Tests including a century and two fifties. The century, in the second of four Tests, took Pietersen to 22 Test hundreds, level with the England record. That century was named as third best Test innings of the decade by Wisden in 2019.https://www.wisden.com/stories/decade-in-review/men-test-innings-of-decade-kevin-pietersen-india
Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...
Cook broke the record by scoring his twenty-third hundred during the same series. Pietersen also featured in the tour's ODI series, scoring 185 runs across a five-match series that ended in an English defeat.


Career in 2013–14

Pietersen featured in the three-Test series in New Zealand in February 2013, scoring 73 in the second match. A knee injury forced him to miss the return home series in May that year, however, and prompted fears over fitness for the upcoming 2013 Ashes series. Though he did not play against New Zealand, the ECB remained hopeful over his ability to play against Australia come the summer. On 3 August 2013, Pietersen not only scored a century in the third Ashes series match in the first innings, he became the highest run scorer for England across all forms of cricket combined. His return Ashes tour over the winter of 2013–14 was less successful, however. In a series which England lost 5–0, Pietersen averaged only 29 and passed fifty only twice in ten innings. He made his 100th Test appearance in the first Test. During this game Pietersen was dismissed by a widely reported catch taken by Chris Sabburg, who entered the field as a substitute fielder. He remained nevertheless England's leading run scorer with 294 runs. He also bowled during the fifth and final Test. Once the tour had ended, and the fallout had contributed to the removal of Flower as head coach, there was much media speculation on the nature of Pietersen's relationship with the team management. The ECB met and announced on 4 February 2014 that Pietersen had not been selected for the upcoming tour of the Caribbean, a decision they described as "unanimous". Media announcements immediately began stating that Pietersen's career was over. Pietersen himself released a statement which read "Although I am obviously very sad the incredible journey has come to an end, I'm also hugely proud of what we, as a team, have achieved over the past nine years."


Post-playing career and image

Kevin Pietersen published his autobiography: ''Kevin Pietersen: Crossing the Boundary'' in early 2007. A second biography: ''Kevin Pietersen: Portrait of a Rebel'' written by journalist Marcus Stead, was published in the autumn of 2009. This book includes a detailed account of the controversies of Pietersen's reign as England captain. A revised and updated version of Stead's book, now titled'' 'KP – The Biography' '', which brought his story up-to-date, was published in July 2013. '' KP: The Autobiography'' was published in October 2014, ghost written by Irish sports journalist David Walsh. Pietersen has expressed gratitude over having time for his family. He has also reiterated over the years his regret over trying "too hard to be English" at the expense of his home. Pietersen is a prominent advocate for the welfare and conservation of endangered animals in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. In 2018, he opened Umganu Lodge, a luxury resort at the edge of
Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...
. He also established Saving Our Rhinos Africa & India (SORAI), a social enterprise supporting rhinoceros conservation. In 2019,
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...
featured Pietersen in the ''Beast of Man''
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
. The programme profiled his role in combating illegal poaching, particularly that of
rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
.


Achievements


Awards

Pietersen gained several awards for his performances in the 2005 season. He was named both the ICC ‘ODI Player of the Year’ and ’ Emerging Player of the Year’ in 2005,Flintoff shares ICC player award
, BBC Sport, 11 October 2005. Retrieved on 27 May 2007.
and was one of the five
Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
(alongside team mates Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard) for his role in the successful 2005 Ashes series against Australia.Flintoff named as the leading player of the year
, ESPNcricinfo, 11 April 2006. Retrieved on 28 May 2007.
Along with the rest of the England team, Pietersen was recognised in the 2006 New Year Honours, being appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
for services to cricket. He also played for the ICC World XI in the 2005 ICC Super Series against Australia.


Test match performance


Records

* Second-highest run-total from his first 25 Tests (behind Sir Don Bradman). * Fourth Englishman to make the top score in both innings of debut Test. * One of only twenty-five players to have a peak ICC batting rating over 900. * Achieved 5,000 Test runs in the fastest time, reaching this feat in 4 years and 243 days.Travis Basevi and George Binoy
From zero to 5000 runs in 1703 days
ESPNcricinfo, 24 March 2010. Retrieved on 22 July 2011.


International centuries

Pietersen scored 23 Test centuries and 9 ODI centuries, totaling 32 centuries in his international career.


References


External links


Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pietersen, Kevin 1980 births Living people Alumni of Maritzburg College Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Cricketers from Pietermaritzburg Delhi Capitals cricketers England One Day International cricketers England Test cricket captains England Test cricketers England Twenty20 International cricketers English cricketers English people of Afrikaner descent English people of South African descent Hampshire cricketers ICC World XI One Day International cricketers KwaZulu-Natal cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Melbourne Stars cricketers Members of the Order of the British Empire Nottinghamshire cricketers Quetta Gladiators cricketers Rising Pune Supergiant cricketers Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricketers South African activists South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African people of Afrikaner descent South African people of English descent Saint Lucia Kings cricketers Surrey cricketers University of South Africa alumni Wisden Cricketers of the Year South African expatriate sportspeople in India South African expatriate sportspeople in Pakistan South African expatriate sportspeople in Australia English expatriate cricketers in India English expatriate cricketers in Australia English expatriate cricketers in Pakistan Expatriate sportspeople in Saint Lucia