Batting is about confidence. How often do you see a ball, decide on a shot, lose confidence part-way through and give an easy catch where if you'd just gone through with it you'd have a boundary?
The problem is, your confidence is always getting eroded. This post is only part in jest. Every time you take a risk and get out as a result, you're always going to think twice about playing that shot again. It's perfectly natural for a batsman to become more circumspect as he gets older and more battle-scarred. Steve Waugh is the classic example. By the time he finished his career he averaged millions and had reduced his entire technique to two shots, or possibly even one - I don't know because I could never be fucked to watch him.
Well, we're seeing that process writ large in the case of Kevin Peter Pietersen. Cast your mind back to his test debut - Ashes 2005. The abiding memory, for me, is of him shattering Glenn McGrath's invincible aura in one totally unexpected blow, by sticking him on the Lord's pavilion. Never mind Harmison's spell, that was the moment when I thought we could win the series.
Would Kevin play that shot today? Never in a month of Sundays. The Kevin of today is a much more clinical batsman. He's the kind of player who takes flagging Australian and West Indian attacks for chanceless 200s where before there was every chance he'd be on his way for 80 off as many balls.
It's not surprising. As the years went by, the English public and media decided they didn't like his style of play. Every aggressive shot that lead to his wicket was met with a STUPID KEVIN BLOWS IT AGAIN headline and considerable tut tutting from crusty old TMS listeners. Of course it had an effect. As has been endlessly pointed out, much of Kevin's swagger is born of a lack of confidence. Yes, we've had less needy girlfriends than him. But you try going out to bat knowing that millions of people think you're a bit of a wazzock. It's hard enough knowing the same about one friendly cricket club.
It's partly a cultural thing. We like to think that as the country that invented the game we're also bastions of playing it properly, damn it. At club level most Pakistani and West Indian guys seem to bat like they've got a bus to catch. Far rarer to see a Brit playing like that. And the thing is, you often wonder how stupid some of those shots Kevin used to play were. For instance, two shots characterise this knock - an innings which, lest we forget, defined an era of English cricket:
One is the hook for six off the extremely fast bowler, Brett Lee. The other is the swipe against the spin of Warne. You see, for all the attacking intent, they're both percentage shots, in a way. There are a number of things in favour of the hook - one, the ball's coming at him so fast that a six is quite likely if he gets any bat at all on it, and two, well - look what happens when he tries evasive action. The slog sweep is much more risky, granted, but look what happens once he's played it a few times - there's a man out there at deep midwicket, and he can play with the spin into a new gap. Would he play a knock like that today? I'm going to say no. Is it just possible that in the heat of the moment he'd inadvertently plotted out the best possible innings in terms of keeping his wicket intact (dropped chances aside)?
So here's to the next time Kevin, on course for 100, spanks Yuvraj Singh or some other bowling heavyweight straight up in the air this summer. Even if I do shout at the TV and call him a stupid bastard when he does it.
The problem is, your confidence is always getting eroded. This post is only part in jest. Every time you take a risk and get out as a result, you're always going to think twice about playing that shot again. It's perfectly natural for a batsman to become more circumspect as he gets older and more battle-scarred. Steve Waugh is the classic example. By the time he finished his career he averaged millions and had reduced his entire technique to two shots, or possibly even one - I don't know because I could never be fucked to watch him.
Well, we're seeing that process writ large in the case of Kevin Peter Pietersen. Cast your mind back to his test debut - Ashes 2005. The abiding memory, for me, is of him shattering Glenn McGrath's invincible aura in one totally unexpected blow, by sticking him on the Lord's pavilion. Never mind Harmison's spell, that was the moment when I thought we could win the series.
Would Kevin play that shot today? Never in a month of Sundays. The Kevin of today is a much more clinical batsman. He's the kind of player who takes flagging Australian and West Indian attacks for chanceless 200s where before there was every chance he'd be on his way for 80 off as many balls.
It's not surprising. As the years went by, the English public and media decided they didn't like his style of play. Every aggressive shot that lead to his wicket was met with a STUPID KEVIN BLOWS IT AGAIN headline and considerable tut tutting from crusty old TMS listeners. Of course it had an effect. As has been endlessly pointed out, much of Kevin's swagger is born of a lack of confidence. Yes, we've had less needy girlfriends than him. But you try going out to bat knowing that millions of people think you're a bit of a wazzock. It's hard enough knowing the same about one friendly cricket club.
It's partly a cultural thing. We like to think that as the country that invented the game we're also bastions of playing it properly, damn it. At club level most Pakistani and West Indian guys seem to bat like they've got a bus to catch. Far rarer to see a Brit playing like that. And the thing is, you often wonder how stupid some of those shots Kevin used to play were. For instance, two shots characterise this knock - an innings which, lest we forget, defined an era of English cricket:
One is the hook for six off the extremely fast bowler, Brett Lee. The other is the swipe against the spin of Warne. You see, for all the attacking intent, they're both percentage shots, in a way. There are a number of things in favour of the hook - one, the ball's coming at him so fast that a six is quite likely if he gets any bat at all on it, and two, well - look what happens when he tries evasive action. The slog sweep is much more risky, granted, but look what happens once he's played it a few times - there's a man out there at deep midwicket, and he can play with the spin into a new gap. Would he play a knock like that today? I'm going to say no. Is it just possible that in the heat of the moment he'd inadvertently plotted out the best possible innings in terms of keeping his wicket intact (dropped chances aside)?
So here's to the next time Kevin, on course for 100, spanks Yuvraj Singh or some other bowling heavyweight straight up in the air this summer. Even if I do shout at the TV and call him a stupid bastard when he does it.
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