On 21st of July 2005, England had a Test debutant in the
name of Kevin Pietersen. He came into the team at the expense of Graham Thorpe
and by the end of the Test match and the series, Thorpe was long forgotten by
the English fans and the media. A new hope was born!
I was in my third year of Engineering at that time and used
to run back home in a frenzied manner - to watch the telecast each day of the
Test. After supporting Australian cricket for long in the 1990's, they became unmanageable
and started winning just too much for my liking. It was the 3-0 win against the
Indians in 1999 - a result which made to discontinue supporting Australia; instead
root for the opponents they played against.
In the previous Ashes tour, Michael Vaughan emerged as a
star for England with his three hundreds at Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney - a
treat to watch. No matter how heavily he accumulated the runs, something was
missing. It was no fault of his, it was what I was looking for in English
batsmen. Then came the 'maverick', a freak with a blonde streak, reminding me
of how James Dean might have been if he played cricket in the modern era with a
cricket bat carrying off that 'funky' hairstyle.
Kevin Pietersen had that X-factor.
In the past thirty years, England as a nation consistently
produced effective cricketers - most of them appearing too boorish when it came
to stroke play. There was a difference to KP's persona - which boils down to the
fact that he was not raised in England? While Pietersen needed someplace where
he could play cricket day in and day out, England desperately needed this X-man
to resurrect themselves and challenge to reach the top. Yes, he was that great;
media propelled his reputation a notch further and made sure he be selected for
the Test playing XI. What a arena it was to make one's test debut - in one of the
oldest international competitions known to the sporting world.
My mind goes back to the year 2005 and to the first Test at
Lord's. Australian team were dismissed in under 45 overs on the first morning
of the series. England then lost wickets in a manner - when even the 'women in
labour' would show some composure. Top order dismantled! and stumps uprooted
once too many in quick successions. By the end of day one, England were seven
wickets down with the debutant Pietersen unbeaten on 27.
Next morning's highlight - he comes down the track and hits the
ball over long-off for a six, that too off McGrath. Phew! and this was no slog;
the bowler in question was not a club cricketer. And then, a moment of joy for
all the English spectators when he cover drove Glen McGrath to reach his maiden
half-century. Folks from all the sections with hands in unison, clapping their
new hero.
KP immediately then demonstrates his power - a wonderful
execution of slog sweep over mid-wicket off Shane Warne. Audacious!. He tried
one too many and he repeated the same stroke the next delivery and this time he
was caught between deep mid wicket and long on - caught within metres from the
boundary courtesy of a full stretched dive from Damien Martyn. That magnificent
catch had done for Kevin Pietersen.
Chasing 420 runs in the final innings, England got off to a
good start and not long after that there was a repeat of first innings - the
manner in which they lost wickets quickly and cheaply. Wickets fell in a heap
and partnerships were just not there.
It was the debutant
KP - once again to show some form of resistance in the form of attack. He
showcased just about everything. Cut
through the point, stroking it through the covers, heaves to the leg side,
sweeping square of the wicket, driving it straight and the pull! Brett Lee,
world's fastest bowler of that time banged in short and KP was quick, daring
and pulled it majestically. The ball went sailing beyond the boundary ropes
into stands, many rows back. KP belongs to the big stage!
He went on score another half-century and slog swept Warne,
yet again and this time the bat made a clean contact with the ball and six!. It
was a pity he did not have steady partners at the other end and at the close of
the innings he remained unbeaten on 64. He top scored in both the innings on
his Test debut. A remarkable feat against the number one side in the world.
The defining moment of the Ashes came on the last day of the
fifth Test at the Oval. Against all odds, England were leading and Australia
had to win the test to square the series and thereby retain the Ashes. He was
dropped twice and had few close calls - well that's all part of this wonderful
game. We all need luck in life and it was riding high on Pietersen for
England's sake.
Apart from few tentative moments; bulk of his time he spent
at the crease - 285 minutes to be precise, Australia had no chance of retaining
the Ashes. His breathtaking knock of 158 came in 187 deliveries packed with
fifteen boundaries and seven of the cleanest strikes over the rope. He hooked,
pulled, drove, cut, flicked, guided to all parts of the ground. Australians
were clueless towards the end and when he got out he got a standing ovation -
something until then I had never seen happening to English cricket in the Ashes.
Pure magic! and victory to England at the Ashes.
I have the DVD of the Ashes victory of 2005 and I might have
played innumerable times during the past few years. KP went on to score 22
hundreds more and some of it were equally awesome; bludgeoning the attack, the
best of the bowlers, humiliating the greatest of bowlers of his era - be it
wily spinners or tearaway fast bowlers. Apart from his weakness to 'pie
chuckers', he performed exceedingly around the globe. His tally of 23 Test
hundreds is above all the English all-time test cricketers except for Alastair
Cook (25).
KP is a once in a life time cricketer - a rare breed,
something to do with him not being English by birth. He is not your typical
Gentleman but by no means he is a criminal. He was the new hope like how 'Luke
Skywalker was to the Jedi's' and instead he was branded as a 'Rebel without a
Cause'.
He idiosyncrasies were quite different from majority of his
teammates - a sense of individualism. I don't have to remind you again, a national
cricket team is composed of individuals not clones. Cricket is still competed by
humans and not robots. In spite of all the management support staff, it is
ridiculous to blame a single person for off-field antics - something which has
not been disclosed.
KP, now branded by the English cricketing authorities as a
bad boy would have probably better off if the management spent some quality
time thinking as to - What made Kevin
Pietersen tick.... like a bomb? from time to time.
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