Hook shot is Pietersen's achilles heel

Kevin Pietersen needs to use his crowd-pleasing hook shot carefully if he is to have a great Ashes series, says Mike Selvey in The Guardian. Pietersen, Selvey feels, has it in him to be a great player in a great series. But he might look at the career of Steve Waugh and wonder if there might be a better way.

"There is a large element of adventure attached to his batting that, as he becomes more familiar to the opposition, bowlers are beginning to exploit: impatience outside off stump and scant recognition of the dangers inherent in taking on the short ball without regard to circumstance.

In the second Test against Pakistan in Faisalabad last winter he completed a fine century by hooking Shoaib Akhtar for six. Next ball he tried to repeat the shot but spliced a catch to mid-on instead. Shoaib unveiled his "chicken man" celebration for the first time. "I'd hit the previous one for six, so why not that?" was Pietersen's response. The answer was, he had been suckered by tremendous bowling; the second bouncer was different, faster, on him before he could execute the stroke. It is what Andy Roberts used to do to hapless batsmen who thought they had the measure of him."

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