"King Kev"- Still a Long Way To Go

They say the intelligence of the human species stems from its will to better itself.

They later termed this process evolution.

Apparently it’s yet to hit British journos.

All you need is one big knock against a one dimensional South African attack, on the flattest deck seen at Lord’s in a long, long time, and suddenly, it’s time you are hailed as the most “complete” batsman in the world today!

To read Simon Wilde’s article on Kevin Pietersen was a lot like coming across that five-year-old kid who has just played his first ball game in the backyard with his dad.

The childlike innocence when kids proclaim, “My daddy is the best!” is not what I got reading the piece on Sunday Times, though.

It’s not the first incident of the English press overhyping its players. The last was the famous Steve Harmison case, of course. At least every time Geoffrey Boycott leapt into the air exclaiming, “There’s the best bowler in the world!” he had the ICC rankings to back him!

What makes this proclamation even more hilarious is the fact that it comes on the back of the dullest draw in recent history, with three South African top order batsmen notching up tons on the same strip!

For starters, let’s look at Pietersen’s track record so far in Test cricket.

Post the Lord’s game, Pietersen boasts an impressive record, by far the best in his side. In 40 matches and 74 innings, he has already notched up 3621 runs at an average of 51. His strike rate of 62.70 is enough to convince anybody that this man is as dangerous as they come at number four! Add to that his 13 tons and 10 fifties, an impressive conversion rate in itself, and you certainly have a “complete” package.

But here’s the kicker.

He has been pegged above

1. Ricky Ponting
   Matches 119
   Innings 199
   Runs 10099
   Average 58.37
   Strike Rate 59.04
   100s 35
   50s 40
   World View: Undeniably the best in the world for the past four years. Enhanced his reputation not only as a batsman, but also as a leader, taking over the mantle of captaining the best side in the world. Most notable feat: a 5-0 Ashes white wash.
   Simon View: “Ponting’s game… looks fragile, brought low by spending his holiday in the Indian Premier League and by wrist surgery.”
   
   
2. Matthew Hayden
   Matches 94
   Innings 167
   Runs 8242
   Average 53.51
   Strike Rate 60.12
   100s 30
   50s 27
   WV: By far, the best opening bat the world has seen in a long, long time, not to mention the most frightening and dominating (and any other adjective describing “causer of utter chaos and destruction”). Holder of the second highest Test score ever: 380.
   SV: “No player in the modern age has had his Test reputation so artificially enhanced by the helmet as Hayden.” (This one is for the ages, really!)
   
   
3. Kumar Sangakkara
   Matches 73
   Innings 120
   Runs 6127
   Average 55.19
   Strike Rate 56
   100s 16
   50s 25
   WV: One of the prettiest batsmen to watch when in full flow, currently ranked the best batsman in the Test world by the ICC, he is probably the second best number three, just after Ponting.
   SV: Sangakkara is perhaps Pietersen’s nearest rival today. Ranked No 1 Test batsman in the ICC rankings, he has had the considerable advantage of playing much of his cricket on Sri Lanka’s slow, true pitches, hence his average of 61 at home and 49 away (he has never done much in Tests in England).
   (Someone, please show him the highlights of the 2nd Australia-Sri Lanka match, 4^th inning; Sangakkara 192)
   
   
4. Jacques Kallis
   Matches 120
   Innings 204
   Runs 9677
   Average 56.59
   Strike Rate 43.91
   100s 30
   50s 47
   WV: As the strike rate suggests, not the flashiest of batsmen, but still has the world’s fastest Test 50 to his name. Versatile, gritty, and an absolute run machine, he once almost equaled Sir Bradman’s run of seven consecutive tons, ultimately falling short by just one!
   SV: South Africa’s Jacques Kallis is as reliable in all conditions as anyone, though he has yet to take a century off Sri Lanka and his record is inflated by cheap runs against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
   (Perhaps India, New Zealand and Pakistan all appear un-worthy rivals in Mr. Wilde’s eyes. When a batsman averages more than Lara himself in Australia, you ought not to take him so lightly!)
   
   
5. Rahul Dravid
   Matches 122
   Innings 210
   Runs 10098
   Average 54.88
   Strike Rate 41.94
   100s 25
   50s 51
   WV: Touted as the world’s best, not too long ago, Dravid made his name with mind blowing performances on his trip to England (’02) and Australia (’03-’04). A career punctuated with knocks like his 148 at Leeds, Dravid will go down along side Gavaskar and Tendulkar, as India’s greatest.
   SV: Dravid, like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, has one of the soundest defences the game has seen, but does not threaten to tear attacks to shreds in the way others do.

And my personal favourite,

1. Sachin Tendulkar
   Matches 147
   Innings 238
   Runs 11782
   Average 55.31
   Strike Rate -
   100s 39
   50s 49
   WV: Perhaps it wouldn’t be exaggeration to state that, of all the players KP was compared to, comparisons to Lara and Tendulkar were the most stupefying.
   Hayden: In India, Tendulkar is like God.
   Warne: Outside grounds, people wait until he goes in before paying to enter. They seem to want a wicket to fall even though it is their own side that will suffer.
   Lara: He is a genius. I’m just a mere mortal.
   SV: Tendulkar, in sheer weight of runs the champion of the day, has raised his game against Australia to a level that only Pietersen and Brian Lara have matched, but his body is creaking and time is no longer on his side.
   (Again, someone please mail the videos of India’s tour Down Under to Mr. Wilde, who obviously seems to have a transmission problem!)

Really Simon? King Kev, more “complete”, more dangerous than the pantheon listed above?

Stats against Australia?

Here are a few numbers.

Kallis

Vs Aus

Runs 1188

Average 38.32

In Aus:

Runs 728

Average 48.53

Dravid

Vs Aus

Runs 1740

Average 45.78

In Aus

Runs 972

Average 48.60

Sangakkara

Vs Aus

Runs 503

Average 41.91

In Aus

Runs 391

Average 65.16

Tendulkar

Vs Aus

Runs 2352

Average 56

In Aus

Runs 1522

Average 58.53

While Pietersen’s averages of 53.5 (overall) and 54.44 (in Aus), against the Best augurs well with the ones above, you just need to look at the fact that his 490 runs in 10 innings still weren’t enough to prevent a humiliation suffered only ONCE before in the entire history of Ashes!

Sehwag, the other batsman who comes to mind when talking of success stories Down Under, has been nicely sidelined by Wilde.

“For the sheer thrill of the ride, not to mention the originality of the headdress, only the mercurial Virender Sehwag can match him. As they are both under 30, they might be reckoned to have their best years ahead of them.”

Excuse me, but hasn’t Sehwag already established himself as the one to be MATCHED, rather than someone who needs to match UP TO someone?

For Pete’s sake! The man has TWO triple hundreds! Only Lara and Bradman have done THAT!

He has the FASTEST double AND triple ton in the HISTORY of the game!

And all he can do is match Pietersen?

He scored 195 against Australia, at the MCG!

Has gone past 150 every time he posts a hundred, in the last 9 occassions, a record even Bradman can't match!

Eh, match who?

This article was not written to undermine Kevin Pietersen’s ability or stature as a batsman.

Trust me, the lad as a stunning future ahead of him. Along with Flintoff (when fit), he is one man who can put English cricket back on top.

His struggles with the South African quota system and his herculean achievements in the English camp, all achieved in such a short time, have already set him apart as a marked man, and one who is bound to achieve greater heights as his career progresses.

But Simon Wilde, and his kin, must note that many a careers have dwindled after even more glorious beginnings.

What bigger example that Vinod Kambli?

Pietersen does have a solid head on his shoulders but when we talk of fame getting to young sportsmen’s head, such rubbish by the press is often neglected.

Ultimately, a part of the responsibility lies with the press, in that, it should practice responsible journalism, as vile writings like this doesn’t help anyone, least of all the player.