Durban - Whatever you think of Kevin Pietersen – and opinions tend to differ radically – the 35-year-old has enjoyed a rather special week in his home country.
The Dolphins haven’t enjoyed the greatest service from their overseas pros in recent years, but they’ve certainly hit the jackpot with “KP” in the last four Ram Slam matches.
In the seven days since Sunday, November 1, the Dolphins’ first match in the competition, Pietersen has scored 22, 115 not out, 100 not out and 68. In those innings he has registered 21 fours and 23 sixes.
That’s 305 runs at a strike rate of 173.29, pretty decent by anyone’s standards. KP is clearly not just an ego.
Of course, it would be decidedly odd if Pietersen didn’t project a certain characteristic self-confidence. He drove into Kingsmead in a gleaming red Range Rover nearly two weeks ago for his first love-in with the media ... and his first net in a while.
When asked whether he’d hit enough balls to feel in nick, Pietersen cannily replied: “I hit quite a few balls this morning. Best when fresh is my approach ... it’s like riding a bike. I know exactly what I need to do to get myself ready.
“It’s about getting my feet moving – actually they moved nicely. To be honest, I surprised myself how well I played today. I’m a hard worker, cricket is everything to me, my batting is everything to me. The media and all the garbage that follows plays second fiddle.”
That isn’t a quote that would emerge from just anybody’s lips. And nor would his following remark when it was pointed out that he had taken time off in the nets to offer (a then out of form) David Miller a few tips on how to play spin.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with guys like Rahul Dravid talking about the art of playing spin on the sub-continent; I see it as part of my job here to not just score runs and win games, but also to hand on my knowledge so players can become better,” he said.
He then roared out of the ground and rejoined his wife, former pop star Jessica Taylor, and their son Dylan, at the luxurious Oyster Box hotel where he has been staying.
Many players would have quailed at the thought of rendering themselves such a hostage to fortune, particularly his remarks about not just scoring runs and winning matches but also helping other players, but Pietersen has certainly walked the walk to go with all the talk.
After a warm-up against the Titans, he then hit his straps, striking his biggest T20 innings against the Lions before smashing the Knights’ attack to all corners in Kimberley.
Pietersen thus became only the fifth player to strike back-to-back T20 hundreds and he tried for a world first on Sunday by going for a third consecutive ton. He played beautifully against the Warriors to reach 68 in 44 balls before his efforts of the previous week finally caught up with him. “I suddenly felt absolutely knackered,” he acknowledged. “I’d taken a couple of blows to my arm and knee and the Durban humidity really was sapping.”
Pietersen has taken his family to a game reserve for a few days, perfect preparation one would imagine for his final match against the Cape Cobras at Centurion on Sunday. There’s even a chance – but only if the Dolphins automatically qualify for the final – that he may fly back for the big one.
Pietersen will probably never play his 105th test for England, or score his 8182nd run, but he still toys with the notion of making a comeback. “What will be will be,” he said after the Dolphins comfortably beat the Warriors on Sunday. “I’m batting as well as ever and I’ve still got the hunger. It’s not so much the runs I’ve scored, but the way I’m feeling at the crease, the decisions I’m making, the way my feet are moving and the time I have to play my strokes. I’ve still got the buzz for batting,” he concluded.
One of Pietersen’s mind-games on social media has been imagining which team he’ll turn out for in next month’s Boxing Day test in Durban. And even though England lost their last Test series in the UAE against Pakistan, and some of their batsmen showed serious flaws, it’s still quite a stretch to imagine Pietersen batting with Alastair Cook against Dale Steyn on a sweltering day at Kingsmead.
The point, though, is that Pietersen has still “got it”. It requires a certain predatory talent, not to mention strike power, to so dominate a stand of 135 with Morne van Wyk in Kimberley that the Dolphins’ skipper was 34 not out when the match ended.
Whatever happens to his still strong international ambitions, the world is still KP’s oyster. As a T20 gun for hire, he’ll next surface in Australia next month where he will be playing with former Aussie captain Michael Clarke for the Melbourne Stars. - Cape Times