Pieterson Leads England Out Again on Sunday

August 29, 2008 - Lawrence Foley England cricket fans will be forgiven for thinking that Kevin Pietersen is the saviour of their national game, and won't mind overlooking the fact that he is actually a South African.  In an amusing twist of fate it is his country of birth against whom Pietersen's burgeoning reputation as an international cricket captain has received the very best of starts.  England are almost unrecognisable to the side who limped to ignominious test defeats to the tourist just over a month ago, and look like a time with impetus, self belief and exuberant confidence.  In fact, just as it is said that dogs begin to resemble their owners, so too have England's players begun to adopt the characteristics of their supremely self-assured new captain.

Gone are the back-page headlines decrying the state of English cricket, replaced by pundits hailing a new era under KP's leadership.  There is no doubt that the start has been impressive, four victories out of four against South Africa, who prior to Pietersen's replacement of Michael Vaughan, had enjoyed 10 and 5 wicket victories over their hosts.  It is the style with which England have won which has been the most impressive though, the last two ODIs can barely be described as contests and every player seems to pulling their weight in the team.  These are exciting times for English cricket, and the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes series next year are now being looked to with excitement rather than trepidation.

 Steve Harmison has been rejuvenated under the new leadership after enduring a torrid time under Vaughan, whilst Andrew Flintoff is beginning to return to the form that made him one of the best all-rounders in world cricket.  The form of Stuart Broad has been superb as well, and if he can maintain consistency he could also rise to the upper echelons of the game and eventually assume Flintoff's mantle of England's number one all-rounder. 

We will learn most about Pietersen's side once they have tasted defeat, and the way in which they react to it.  Defeat often occurs in the game following the securing of a series victory, and the match at Lord's on Sunday will be all about pride for South Africa.  Though they can no longer win the series, they will be desperate not to lose this series 5-0 and adversely affect their ODI ranking, so you would have to expect a better show from them.  On the evidence of what we have seen in the past three games though, there can only be one winner on Sunday and they are captained by the best South African batsman of his generation, it's just a shame he plays for England.
 
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