Kevin Pietersen is a retired English cricketer and former captain of the England cricket team.[1] He has scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) in Test and One Day International (ODI) matches, on twenty-three and nine occasions respectively.[2] As of 1 January 2013, Pietersen has played 104 Tests and 136 ODIs for England, scoring 8,181 and 4,440 runs respectively and is the first batsman to reach 5,000 or more runs in Test cricket in under five years.[3][4] His performances in the 2005 Ashes series led to Pietersen being named one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 2006 and being appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2006 New Year Honours.[5][6]
Pietersen made his Test debut against Australia in July 2005, when he was called into the team to replace Graham Thorpe for the first Test of the 2005 Ashes series.[7] He made his first century during the fifth Test of the series at The Oval; his 158 in the third innings enabled England to draw the match and win the series 2–1.[8] His career best score of 227 also came against Australia in the second Test of the 2010–11 Ashes series at the Adelaide Oval.[9] Pietersen has scored centuries against all Test cricket playing nations, with the exception of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.[10] He is most successful against India, against whom he has scored six centuries. He is joint twenty-third among all-time Test century makers,[11][A] and second in the equivalent list for England.[12]
Pietersen made his ODI debut in 2004 against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. His first century was against South Africa at Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein in February 2005.[13] His highest ODI score is 130 against Pakistan in February 2012 at the DSC Cricket Stadium, Dubai.[13] Pietersen played 37 Twenty20 International (T20I) matches since his debut in 2005, without scoring a century. His highest score in the format was 79 against Zimbabwe, in September 2007.[14]
- ^ Gilmour, Rod (7 January 2009). "Kevin Pietersen confirms resignation as England crisis deepens". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
- ^ "Player Profile: Kevin Pietersen". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ^ "Kevin Pietersen". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ Basevi, Travis; Binoy, George (24 March 2010). "From zero to 5000 runs in 1703 days". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ "Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Honours for Ashes and 2012 heroes". BBC Sport. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^ "England drop Thorpe for Pietersen". BBC Sport. 14 July 2005. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "Truimphant England reclaim Ashes". BBC Sport. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ Lilywhite, Jamie (6 December 2010). "Ashes: Late strike lifts England's hopes in Adelaide Test". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
- ^ "Statistics – Statsguru – KP Pietersen – Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 September 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "Records – Test matches – Most hundreds". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ "Records – Test matches – Most hundreds in a career for England". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Statistics – Statsguru – KP Pietersen – One-Day Internationals". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 September 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- ^ "Statistics – Statsguru – KP Pietersen – Twenty20 Internationals". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2012.