Former England batter Kevin Pietersen made his Test debut against Australia in Ashes 2005. He was one of those players who thrived playing against the Aussies. However, ahead of Ashes 2010-11 down under, he was going through a slump. Former Australian pacer Brett Lee still advised his teammates to not provoke Pietersen during the series.
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Pietersen’s bad form was not just limited to red-ball cricket. He had already been dropped from both the white-ball sides. Then-Australian captain Ricky Ponting had also raised questions about Pietersen’s selection. In the last 10 Tests before the Ashes, Pietersen managed to score 306 runs with the help of three half-centuries.
Former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson even gave a warning to Pietersen that he will be targeted by a lot of bouncers in the series. Even the Australians knew that Pietersen was a big threat to them and they tried everything in their control to disturb an already out-of-form batter.
Brett Lee Adviced Australian Bowlers to Not Provoke Kevin Pietersen in Ashes 2010-11
Talking to The Guardian, Lee had said that Pietersen is one of those batters who should be left alone. He felt that poking at him could cost the Australians the series. Lee backed the English batter to bounce back in the and he was not wrong as well. He refused to call Pietersen a weakness of England.
“I’d always back Kevin Pietersen to come out and do well.”
“There are guys you can stir up and get stuck into and there are others you leave alone. He takes it personally and it fires him up and he’ll want to score a big hundred.”
England just rattled Australia in the series and it was Ponting’s last ride as Australian Test captain. The Ashes in Australia have generally been one-sided in favour of the home team, but the tides had turned back then. Lee believed that only match-winners could do well in Australia and Pietersen was one of them.
Kevin Pietersen Performance in Ashes 2010-11
Pietersen was not at his best in Ashes 2010-11 but his overall numbers looked quite decent. He scored 360 runs across six innings at an average of 60 with the help of one century and one half-century. Pietersen was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the series.
It must be noted that he played a knock of 227 runs at the Adelaide Oval which means he scored 133 runs in the remaining five innings. Pietersen managed to save his place in the side and scored another double century against India at the Lord’s the next year.
