Melbourne, July 05: Australia’s players have described England’s star batsman Kevin Pietersen as the best in the business outside Australia.
Pietersen, with 50 percent of the vote, was by far the most popular choice, according to reports in The Age. Sachin Tendulkar, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Kumar Sangakkara were nowhere close to the South Africa-born batsman.
Pietersen has made 963 runs at 53.50 against Australia, but it is the 29-year-old’s attitude that attracts just as much admiration as his record.
“He’s the sort of player that is always taking the game forward. I’m not sure of his strike rate in Test cricket (63.35) but generally when he makes runs he gets them at a pretty good speed,” said Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
“He’s always putting it back on the bowler, the way he moves his feet, the way he walks across the stumps and does things, it’s continually challenging the bowler. That in itself says a lot about you. You need great confidence to be able to do that, because if you get out doing that, at the end of the day you can punish yourself,” he added.
Former Australia opener Justin Langer sensed the England batsman’s greatness as the Ashes turned to dust at the Oval during the historic Ashes series in 2005.
“He’s had the courage to play with conviction and aggression. That’s what great players do,” said the retired Australian opener recently.
—–Agencies