ENGLAND’S LONE WARRIOR

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Kevin Pietersen might have lost the flamboyant touch that had made him such an explosive batsman and the bane of fast bowlers all over the world, but when it comes to class and performances day in and day out for the England national Cricket Team, his spot in the team is as good as guaranteed for any tour that the team embarks upon and this was proven when his name was called out second to the captain Andrew Strauss when the England squad for the tour of Sri Lanka was announced.

The South African born Pietersen was one of the players who managed to stand out during the England team’s collapse in the Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates where the number one Test side in the world succumbed to a 3-0 series whitewash at the hands of of the once mighty Asian giants.

Kevin Pietersen was also the star man in England’s 4-0 One Day International series win against the men in green and what made him the best performer for England in the series was the last innings in the final Twenty 20 International that England won by five runs. It is not just talent that makes Pietersen tick all the time but also the hard work that he puts in the nets day in and day out that was giving its just results for the 31 year old middle order batsman.

He is again expected to lead the batting attack against a Sri Lankan side that is extremely difficult to face at home on the spinning wickets and having played there many times before, the England team management is hoping that Kevin Pietersen once again manages to lead them from the front to a series victory in the sub continent, that will cement their number one Test team status.

DOES KP STILL HAVE IT?

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Is Kevin Pietersen’s career on its last legs? He is without doubt one of the most important batsman England has possibly ever had in its side, but at the same time, he is also one of the players who divides opinion so sharply.

Pietersen has played a vital role in many of England’s most monumental successes of recent times, with his audacious batting being crucial to England regaining the Ashes in 2005, and winning their first ever global tournament in the form of the ICC World T20 in 2010. Despite such an impressive track record, Pietersen has always had his detractors.

Many are, ridiculously, judging of Pietersen due to his South African roots, believing him not to be ‘truly English’. Other, are more pain staked by the fact that he appears to bat with such gay abandon, perhaps too much some times. His flamboyant batting can really entertain and astonish, but some of Pietersen’s strokes are just so outlandish that if they are not perfectly executed, and they end up costing him his wicket, he is made to look extremely careless.

Now, in a time when Pietersen has failed miserably so far during the tour of the United Arab Emirates, there are once again calls for his head. Despite his success against the two best spin bowlers to have ever played the game in Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, Pietersen has been made to look distinctly average against Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman on this tour.

At the age of 31, Pietersen should be coming of age as a batsman, and with there being a widely-believed concept that many still slightly judge him for his treatment of Peter Moores when he was coach, he is in need of big runs during the Winter or else he may find his Summer appearances for England curtailed.