Kevin Pietersen finds his Mojo
Thursday, October 21, 2010 : The Ashes, England, Tests
Over the past year or so, Kevin Pietersen has suffered from a serious lack of both form and confidence. It’s been over 18 months since Pietersen made a Test century and his lack of form resulted in England’s star batsman being dropped from the one-day side, towards the end of the summer. In his bid to rediscover the Pietersen of old, the batsman returned to the country of his birth South Africa, and played two innings for his old team Kwa-zulu Natal Dolphins.
Despite a modest return of 36 and a second ball duck during his time in South Africa, Pietersen has made it clear to cricket betting pundits that he is heading to Australia full of belief and eager to get over his prolonged average spell, the batsman said "I felt brilliant in South Africa. I'm full of confidence going to Australia”.
While his form may still be a cause for concern for many England fans and management alike, a confident and upbeat Pietersen will be the last thing the Aussies want to hear before next month’s opening Test in Brisbane. Although the Aussie press will be guaranteed to be flapping their gums about how Pietersen may be England’s weak link this series, the 30 year old is the one English player that those men from Down Under genuinely fear.
Pietersen is one of a number in the England squad who will be out to banish those still painful memories from this series in 2006/07, when England handed over the Ashes urn, they had battled to reclaim in 2005, without so much as a whimper, going down 5-0.
A lot is different about this series than the one three years ago, firstly the Aussie’s are lacking the same world class players they boasted for so long and turned them into such a dominant force in world cricket. Secondly, with Australia’s recent 2-0 loss to India, they have dropped below England in the ICC world rankings, for the first time ever.
If England do manage to win their first Ashes series on Australian soil since 1987, then those placing an Ashes free bet will be sure of the fact that KP will have played a significant role in the victory.
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