#Players Profile # Kevin Pietersen (England)

Full name Kevin Peter Pietersen

Born June 27, 1980, Pietermaritzburg, Natal

Current age 31 years 83 days

Major teams England,                 Deccan Chargers, Dolphins, Hampshire, ICC World XI, KwaZulu-Natal, Natal, Nottinghamshire, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Surrey

Nickname KP, Kelves, Kapes, Kev

Playing role Top-order batsman

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Height 6 ft 4 in

Education Maritzburg College, University of SA

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	78	133	7	6361	227	50.48	10154	62.64	19	25	766	56	49	0
ODIs	119	108	15	3733	116	40.13	4283	87.15	7	22	353	66	35	0
T20Is	32	32	4	1011	79	36.10	706	143.20	0	5	101	27	13	0
First-class	173	281	19	13084	254*	49.93			41	56			134	0
List A	232	212	32	7332	147	40.73			13	43			79	0
Twenty20	63	62	7	1766	79	32.10	1272	138.83	0	9	176	50	24	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	78	50	1071	722	5	1/0	1/10	144.40	4.04	214.2	0	0	0
ODIs	119	21	382	353	7	2/22	2/22	50.42	5.54	54.5	0	0	0
T20Is	32	3	30	53	1	1/27	1/27	53.00	10.60	30.0	0	0	0
First-class	173		5959	3460	63	4/31		54.92	3.48	94.5		0	0
List A	232		2372	2105	41	3/14	3/14	51.34	5.32	57.8	0	0	0
Twenty20	63	23	324	425	17	3/33	3/33	25.00	7.87	19.0	0	0	0

Career statistics

Test debut	England v Australia at Lord's, Jul 21-24, 2005 scorecard
Last Test	England v India at The Oval, Aug 18-22, 2011 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut	Zimbabwe v England at Harare, Nov 28, 2004 scorecard
Last ODI	England v Sri Lanka at Manchester, Jul 9, 2011 scorecard
ODI statistics
T20I debut	England v Australia at Southampton, Jun 13, 2005 scorecard
Last T20I	England v India at Manchester, Aug 31, 2011 scorecard
T20I statistics
First-class debut	1997/98
Last First-class	England v India at The Oval, Aug 18-22, 2011 scorecard
List A debut	1998/99
Last List A	England v Sri Lanka at Manchester, Jul 9, 2011 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	Durham v Nottinghamshire at Chester-le-Street, Jun 13, 2003 scorecard
Last Twenty20	England v India at Manchester, Aug 31, 2011 scorecard

Recent matches

Bat & Bowl	Team	Opposition	Ground	Match Date	Scorecard
33	England	v India	Manchester	31 Aug 2011	T20I # 204
175, 0/27, 0/17	England	v India	The Oval	18 Aug 2011	Test # 2004
63, 0/12	England	v India	Birmingham	10 Aug 2011	Test # 2003
29, 0/13, 63, 0/7	England	v India	Nottingham	29 Jul 2011	Test # 2001
202*, 0/3, 1, 0/12	England	v India	Lord's	21 Jul 2011	Test # 2000
5	England	v Sri Lanka	Manchester	9 Jul 2011	ODI # 3170
-	England	v Sri Lanka	Nottingham	6 Jul 2011	ODI # 3169
41	England	v Sri Lanka	Lord's	3 Jul 2011	ODI # 3168
0/15, 13	England	v Sri Lanka	Leeds	1 Jul 2011	ODI # 3167
26	England	v Sri Lanka	The Oval	28 Jun 2011	ODI # 3165

Profile

He's tall, he's loud, he's brash ... but "KP" is also a superb batsman, capable of annexing many of England's Test records before he's done. He reached 1000 one-day runs in just 21 matches - equalling Viv Richards' record - while he made more runs in his first 25 Tests than anyone else except Don Bradman. He's strong on the drive, with a crunching pull and hook, while his signature shot is the "flamingo" - a wristy pull-drive played with back foot balletically off the ground. There's also the switch-hit reverse sweep, which needed a ruling on its legality from MCC. 

Pietersen's career path has been unconventional, starting with his decision to quit South Africa in protest at a racial-quota system which, he felt, was hindering him. Back then he was seen more as an offspinner who could bat a bit, but in county cricket it was immediately apparent that description was back to front. The runs flowed, and it was no surprise when, as soon as he was eligible, he played one-dayers for England in Zimbabwe late in 2004. A good display there resulted in a late call-up for the tour that followed in South Africa, where Pietersen clouted three superb centuries to silence crowds which booed him as a turncoat.

Test cricket beckoned, and he made his debut under more pressure, being preferred to the 100-Test veteran Graham Thorpe for the 2005 Ashes. Pietersen started with two half-centuries at Lord's, then ensured the return of the urn after 17 years with a stroke-filled 158 at The Oval. The next five years were a whirl of runs and celebrity engagements, plus a short-lived tilt at the England captaincy. That started well, with a century and victory against South Africa at The Oval in 2008, but ended in recriminations early the following year after a falling-out with the coach, Peter Moores. Pietersen recommended, rather too publicly, that Moores be removed ... and got his way, only to be summarily sacked as well.

The flak probably affected Pietersen more than he cared to admit. Before the captaincy debacle, abuse had rarely fazed him. Early on he reacted to some banter in a club game in Australia by announcing that it was bad form to sledge the man of the match before he'd batted: money followed mouth with a century. Occasionally the show-off does win out, as in the first Ashes Test of 2009 at Cardiff, when an extraordinary swipe at Nathan Hauritz's underestimated offspin clipped his helmet and plopped obligingly into short leg's hands.

Injuries have been a worry - that 2009 Ashes campaign was cut short by leg trouble that needed surgery - but when fit and fired up Pietersen is a bowler's nightmare, and the wicket England's opponents crave the most. Latterly he has sometimes looked bored with domestic cricket, quitting Hampshire after 2009 as, he said, it was too far from the Chelsea home which, just to hammer home the celebrity lifestyle he now enjoys, Pietersen shares with his pop-singer wife Jessica.

At the end of an an unproductive 2010 season, Pietersen was dropped for the first time by England - an indignity to which he reacted with an ill-advised "tweet" - but the bold decision paid dividends. On the subsequent Ashes tour, he ended a 20-month wait for an international century by making a career-best 227 in England's innings victory at Adelaide, their first in a "live" Ashes Test in Australia for 24 years. 

source of post:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/