Players

Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen only made his international debut in late 2004 but within less than a year he had cemented his place in both the Test and one-day sides and more importantly helped England reclaim the Ashes.

The hard-hitting batsman was born in Pietermaritzburg but his mother comes from Canterbury and in 2001 he decided to throw his lot in with England after becoming disillusioned with the selection system in South Africa.

Pietersen joined Nottinghamshire after talks with their then coach Clive Rice and became an instant success. In his first season he topped Notts' averages with 1,275 runs at 57.95 and in 2002 smashed four centuries in a week including 254 not out against Middlesex.

On the 2003-4 ECB National Academy tour of India he proved himself to be a player of the finest quality with four hundreds in four games and finished with a first-class average of 54.48.

He was selected for the National Academy in the winter of 2004-5 before being named in the England squad for the first time for the one-day series in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Pietersen turned down the offer of a new contract to stay at Trent Bridge and in October 2004 signed a three-year deal to play for Hampshire.

Having waited four years to qualify to play for England, Pietersen made an immediate impression with some impressive performances against Zimbabwe.

Pietersen celebrates his first century against South Africa

He then enjoyed an astonishing series against the country of his birth, finishing with three centuries and an average of 151.33, which enabled him to collect the man-of-the-series award despite England losing 4-1.

The 116 he scored in the final match of the series prompted the crowd, who had abused him throughout the series because of his South African origins, to give him a standing ovation. Chairman of selectors David Graveney claimed it was the “greatest one-day innings I have ever seen”.

The knock also helped him to become the fastest man to 500 runs in one-day international history.

In 2005, playing on his home ground at the Rose Bowl, Pietersen fully justified his inclusion in the first "Ashes" Twenty20 international with a man-of-the-match display, smashing 34 off just 18 balls before taking three crucial catches in the field.

But he was not done there against Australia, winning another man-of-the-match gong after a breathtaking 91 not out off only 65 deliveries in the NatWest Series clash at Bristol - a knock skipper Michael Vaughan hailed as "genius-like".

He continued his form throughout the NatWest Challenge with Australia and gained his first Test call-up - at the expense of Graham Thorpe - in the 12-man squad for the first 2005 npower Ashes match at Lord's.

He became only the eighth England player to score a half-century in both innings on Test debut, although his efforts could not prevent a 239-run defeat.

Another half-century at Edgbaston helped England level the series with a dramatic two-run victory and after winning at Trent Bridge, Michael Vaughan’s men went into the final Test at the Brit Oval needing only a draw to reclaim the Ashes.

That dream looked to be slipping away when England stumbled to 126 for five in their second innings on the final day, but Pietersen produced a magnificent innings to lead the hosts to safety.

He took the attack to Australia, especially Hampshire team-mate Shane Warne, and the draw was secure by the time he was dismissed for a magnificent 158 from 187 balls.

Pietersen gets his hands on the Ashes urn in 2005

That autumn he played for the ICC World XI in three ODIs against Australia and was the recipient of the Emerging Player of the Year and the ODI Player of the Year at the second ICC Awards ceremony, in Australia in 2005.

He was also awarded an MBE, along with the rest of the Ashes-winning side, in the New Year’s honours list.

After helping England to an impressive 1-1 draw in their Test series in India, Pietersen found his best form at the start of the 2006 summer, matching his best international score of 158 in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

His 142 in the second Test at Edgbaston included an audacious reverse sweep for six off the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan.

He missed the last two matches of the NatWest series against Sri Lanka with a knee injury but was back in action against Pakistan where he made 135 in the third Test at Headingley Carnegie.

Pietersen had a quiet one-day series against Pakistan by his own lofty standards but came good again in the ICC Champions Trophy where he scored a match-winning 90 not out to guide England home against West Indies.

He hit 158 for a third time in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide when he put on 310 for the third wicket with Paul Collingwood.

He suffered a broken rib when he was hit by a Glenn McGrath bouncer in the first game of the Commonwealth Bank one-day series which forced the batsman to fly home, but recovered to feature in the World Cup in the West Indies.

Pietersen finally passed 158 in a Test innings when he made 226 against West Indies at Headingley in May 2007 - the highest Test score by an English batsman since Graham Gooch’s 333 in 1990.

He was consequently shortlisted for the ICC's Cricketer of the Year and Test player of the Year awards in 2007.

Pietersen celebrates after reaching a century against his native South Africa at Lord's

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The right-hander played a crucial knock in the third Test against New Zealand at Napier when his 129 helped England recover from 36 for four to 253 all out. Victory in that Test secured a 2-1 series win.

He led England for the first time in the final match of the NatWest Series against New Zealand following one-day skipper Collingwood’s suspension for England’s slow over rate.

In his first Test against his native South Africa Pietersen struck 152 at Lord’s in July 2008.

He was appointed England Test and one-day captain following Vaughan and Collingwood’s resignations after the third npower Test against South Africa.

Pietersen led England to a consolation victory at the Brit Oval in his first Test in charge, hitting 100 in his first innings as captain.

He then inspired a 4-0 NatWest Series triumph against the Proteas.

Pietersen led England to India, where they lost 5-0 in the truncated one-day series, but led the team admirably after the Mumbai terror attacks. When England returned, they lost the Test series 1-0.

The ECB accepted, with regret, the resignation of Pietersen as England captain on January 7, 2009.

Pietersen believed that in the present situation it was impossible to restore the dressing room unity, after an "irretrievable breakdown of the relationship" between himself and coach Peter Moores.

Pietersen continued in the squad for the tour to West Indies, with Andrew Strauss appointed captain in his place.

In February 2009 he was bought by Bangalore Royal Challengers for US$ 1.55million whom he played for in the second edition of the Indian Premier League.

His century on the final day of the winter Test series in the Caribbean could not prevent a 1-0 defeat although he helped England claim the ODIs 3-2.

Pietersen helped gain Test revenge over the Windies in May but sat out the NatWest Series with an Achilles injury.

He returned during the World Twenty20 but could only take part in the first two Ashes Tests before his right Achilles required surgery that ruled him out of the remainder of the summer.

He recovered in time to play in the one-day and Test series in South Africa, but failed to make an impact with the bat.