KP NUTS ABOUT BAZBALL

Pietersen was a trailblazer for outrageous shots and is loving England’s free-spirited approach

- MIKE ALTERS

KEVIN PIETERSEN did not invent Bazball but he was the England batsman who set the bar high for outrageous audacity.

After watching Joe Root carry the fight to Australia’s bowlers in the gutwrenching first Ashes Test defeat at Edgbaston, he said: “It’s so refreshing to see an England team with an approach that is completely free- spirited.”

On the same ground 17 years ago Pietersen unfurled his most flamboyant trick shot of all, switch- hitting Sri Lanka spin demon Muttiah Muralitharan for six into the Hollies stand. And his fearless repertoire included:

• TAKING on 95mph Brett Lee with a baseball-style Babe Ruth ‘home run’
• THE ‘flamingo’ whipped through midwicket off one leg
• AND hoisting England’s Ashes nemesis Glenn McGrath for a straight six into the Lord’s pavilion on his debut.

If KP did not originate all those shots, he rewrote the mindset required to play them.

It remains a stain on English cricket that he was scapegoated for a 5-0 whitewash Down Under 10 years ago when trying to light the path from stodge to showmanship.