No. 4: Kevin Pietersen
Leading the middle order in the former Australia captain's Ashes XI: a dashing batsman from England (or South Africa)
Ricky Ponting
09-Jul-2015
"He was a match-winning player and the tougher the situation, the better he played: a bit like Glenn McGrath. He was one of those guys who loved to win the defining moments that decide a series like the Ashes"
Stats
OVERALL: Matches 104 Innings 181 Runs 8181 Average 47.28 100s/50s 23/35
ASHES: Matches 27 Innings 50 Runs 2158 Average 44.95 100s/50s 4/13
ASHES: Matches 27 Innings 50 Runs 2158 Average 44.95 100s/50s 4/13
Best performance
158 at The Oval, 2005
The final day of the final Test of an Ashes Test, and England's batsmen had one simple task against McGrath, Lee, Warne and Tait: make sure not to lose the Test. Kevin Pietersen's first ball - McGrath was on a hat-trick - looped to the slips off his shoulder and umpire Bowden correctly ruled not-out. He survived two more chances and at lunch, England were only 133 ahead with five wickets left. Post lunch, it was Pietersen's session as he raced to his maiden Test century off 124 balls. Brett Lee pumped up the pace, but Pietersen pulled off some outrageous shots. His 158 effectively sealed England's conquest of the Ashes in 2005.
The final day of the final Test of an Ashes Test, and England's batsmen had one simple task against McGrath, Lee, Warne and Tait: make sure not to lose the Test. Kevin Pietersen's first ball - McGrath was on a hat-trick - looped to the slips off his shoulder and umpire Bowden correctly ruled not-out. He survived two more chances and at lunch, England were only 133 ahead with five wickets left. Post lunch, it was Pietersen's session as he raced to his maiden Test century off 124 balls. Brett Lee pumped up the pace, but Pietersen pulled off some outrageous shots. His 158 effectively sealed England's conquest of the Ashes in 2005.
Trivia
Kevin Pietersen has twice made scores of 158 in the Ashes.
One of cricket's modern greats, Ricky Ponting captained Australia in 324 matches and scored over 27,000 runs