It is very early days, of course, but Kevin Pietersen is making the business
of Test captaincy look ridiculously effortless. A century in his first
innings (a feat not achieved by an official England captain for 111 years),
a deft hand with bowling changes, South African wickets falling like
confetti – not bad for a man who had the job dumped in his lap with four
days’ notice.
Those who have known him well, or observed him at close quarters, are not
surprised. Since his schooldays, Pietersen has repeatedly shown an appetite
for hard work, hunger for information and determination to meet a challenge.
The appearance of effortlessness has come only with the most thorough
preparation.
“He always believed he could do anything,” said Mike Bechet, the director of
sport at Maritzburg College, which Pietersen attended until 1997. “He was
sound academically but always wanted to be a cricketer. He claimed in his
book that he should have got his chance in our first XI sooner than he did
and that when he got a go he did fantastically well, but his scores were
more mediocre than fantastic. I always say to guys, ‘Prove me wrong, pick
yourself’. Even in the second team Pietersen never made a hundred.
“He improved after he left school. He got stronger and ended up playing for
Natal Schools. Since then he has grown incredibly as a batsman. He was very
aggressive when I knew him but not a match-winner. He was young for his
year, which I’m sure affected his development, but always had a word for
somebody. I’d call it confidence rather than arrogance.
“I get great delight when he scores a hundred because I know why he left South
Africa, which is to be measured for what he’s worth, and there’s a lot of
sportsmen disappearing in South Africa because they can’t be. Kevin has gone
overseas determined to prove the system here is wrong. I take my hat off to
him for that.”
Such was his physical and technical development, Pietersen won a place in the
Natal team within two years of leaving school. “He was 18 years old and
wouldn’t have been in our set-up if he hadn’t been talented,” said Dale
Benkenstein, then Natal captain. “He got into the side because he could bowl
spin and offer something with the bat. He was brilliant in the field, but he
was a schoolkid and facing guys like Kenny Benjamin he found tough, like
anyone would.
“What stood out in his innings against England [of 61 not out for Natal in
1999] was how cleanly he hit the ball. Shaun Pollock said he’d never seen a
guy hit the ball so cleanly at that age. He was one of the hardest-working
young guys in the squad but opportunities were going to be limited.
“At the end of the season he was offered a one-year contract for not a
substantial amount and he had the chance to go to England. I was not
surprised he went. He had a British passport and it was an option. As long
as he could put to rest in his own mind that if he never played for South
Africa he could live with that, then going to England was an opportunity to
have a good career.
“Once he made that decision, he was determined to fight for everything and it
made him a better player and a better person. When he puts his mind to
something, he’s excelled. That sums him up, really.”
Pietersen secured a contract as overseas pro with Birmingham League side
Cannock in 2000. “I was led to believe he was a batter but Kevin desperately
wanted to bowl,” recalled Laurie Potter, the captain. “He would ring me on a
Friday, asking to bowl more overs, but we had two spinners and his off-spin
was inconsistent. He had strong ambitions. There was a certain arrogance,
though that is not a bad thing.
“He did very well with the bat. He didn’t make massive scores but played some
important innings. He was a front-foot player and I did wonder how he’d go
against real pace. It was unfortunate that he left early – Natal were
touring Western Australia – because he missed us clinching the title. That
season was the pinnacle for us. Kevin made a lot of friends, though he had
difficulties with the club [over money]. I wouldn’t want to take the credit,
but maybe that season was when he began to think of himself chiefly as a
batsman.”
During 2000, Pietersen signed to come back the next year and play for
Nottinghamshire, but before the deal was done, he had a trial with
Warwickshire, scoring 92 in a second XI game against Surrey. Gareth Batty,
who captained Surrey seconds, recalled Pietersen’s innings. “The conditions
were bowler-friendly and Carl Greenidge bowled really well and quickly. All
their batsmen struggled, all except one. Carl dropped slightly short and
Pietersen hooked it miles over square leg. It flew out of the ground, over
some trees and knocked the tiles off the roof of a house. It made us all sit
up. He played really well in difficult conditions. It was clear he was one
to watch.” Warwickshire, however, were on the lookout for a spin bowler, and
passed him over.
Another admiring opponent was David Ripley, who kept wicket for Northants when
Pietersen scored his first century for Notts in a pre-season game in 2001.
“Matthew Hayden hadn’t arrived, so I was leading the side. We were playing
on the edge of the square [at Trent Bridge] and Pietersen kept hitting us to
the short side. He was very strong on the leg side and very confident. At
one point he turned to me and said, ‘I’m off to change my gloves’. I wasn’t
happy that he was carting us everywhere and snapped back, ‘You’re supposed
to ask me, not tell me’. He got his gloves, apologised and carried on
smacking us.
“We played Notts again in a one-dayer at the end of the season. It was my last
match at Northampton, as I was retiring, and we had a party after the game
and Kevin came along. I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea but he seemed a
nice guy to me. I admire his self-belief and work ethic. He’s an excellent
role model.”
Three years later, Pietersen was on the verge of completing a four-year
qualification for England, and on the verge of England selection. David
Graveney, then chairman of selectors, picked him for an England A tour of
India early in 2004. “He was playing at Notts and I remember there being
some debate about his long-term objectives there,” Graveney said. “He had
risen fast from an off-spinner in Natal to frontline batsman in county
cricket. It had been an extraordinary transformation.
“He liked to get across his crease and sometimes got caught on the crease,
lbw. He had an unusual style, unique, really. For a tall guy he got very low
to drive and he hit the ball as hard as anyone. Rod Marsh was head of the
academy and I spoke to him regularly while the [England A] team were in
India. The team did not do well but Pietersen had a very good tour, scoring
several hundreds. Rod spoke a lot about him.
“Shortly after he qualified, we picked him for a one-day series in Zimbabwe
and Duncan Fletcher [the England coach] was so impressed he wanted to find a
way to get him on the South Africa tour. This happened when Andrew Flintoff
returned home injured from the one-dayers. Then it was like a one-man show,
Pietersen scoring hundreds on his own, batting in an extraordinarily
controlled way.”
Geraint Jones was an England teammate that winter. “Kevin didn’t get off to a
great start in Zimbabwe,” he remembered. “He nearly ran several people out.
In South Africa he played some amazing shots for a guy new to international
cricket. That showed his self-belief and determination. A lot of new guys
get wrapped up in how they think they should play as an international
cricketer and forget what got them to that level, but Kev never had that
problem.
“Standing at the other end, watching him take balls from outside off stump and
put them through midwicket, was a humbling experience. How do you follow
that? He had a good work ethic from the start and watched what the senior
guys were doing. He has been quoted as saying that he wants to improve every
day and he means it. The hostility towards him from the South African crowds
was very evident but if anything that external pressure helped jump-start
his career.”
On Friday night at The Oval, Pietersen’s maturity was in full evidence as he
dismissed the pre-match hype as “nonsense” and played down the media’s fuss
about his hundred. Asked if he was finding captaincy easy, he replied: “I
wouldn’t say easy. In fact, the job can only get worse.” It was a good start
to a mountainous journey.
First 12 months for captains
MICHAEL VAUGHAN
Excellent first year, winning three series and scoring four centuries,
including two to save games in Kandy and Antigua.
First 12 months: W10 L3 D3
NASSER HUSSAIN
Difficult start, with defeats to New Zealand and South Africa before turning
the tide with historic victory over West Indies in 2000.
First 12 months: W3 L5 D3
ALEC STEWART
Began with big series win over South Africa in 1998, but a poor World Cup the
next year cost him his job.
First 12 months: W3 L5 D3
MICHAEL ATHERTON
Famous victory in second match against Australia at The Oval but endured tough
winter tour of the Caribbean. Batting prospered, though.
First 12 months: W3 L5 D3
GRAHAM GOOCH
Broke drought against West Indies with victory in Jamaica and won home series
against New Zealand and India. His own batting was immense: 1,612 runs,
average 73.3.
First 12 months: W3 L2 D7
