Kevin Pietersen Emphasizes Defensive Skills for Success in England's India Test Series
Former Hero's Insights on Batting Strategies and Mastering Ravichandran Ashwin's 'Doosra
One of the stars of England's historic Test tour of India in 2012–2013, Kevin Pietersen, has emphasized that hitters must have a strong defense if they are to succeed in their next series.
One of the greatest innings by a foreign hitter in India is said to have been Pietersen's 186 in the second Test in Mumbai.
"Without a defense, getting runs is just going to be a fluke," the 43-year-old said to Mike Atherton in The Times, London.
When Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, and I were in India, we used to do this exercise often. As excellent as anybody, Rooty is amazing. It's about learning to wait to determine the length of the ball so that you are not playing with only your hands and about not committing yourself to the front foot. The exercise is to hit any ball, wherever it pitches, via the off side in order to accomplish that.
Pietersen said, "It's pretty simple, you can't bat if you don't have a defense." I would spend a lot of time in the nets simply playing defense because it's not bad at all. Your confidence to launch an assault is bolstered by your skill to protect.
"Play straight lines, don't plant your front foot, defend, wait for the ball, and use more than just your hands to play." You may relax if you are able to do it and have the resources necessary to commit to and have faith in a strong defense.
Pietersen also spoke about his role in the Mumbai Test as Ravichandran Ashwin doosra.
"I selected 'doosra' from Ashwin. I believe he still loads the ball at the rear of his run-up, like he used to. As an off spinner, he never rushed up with the ball in his hand and altered it late for the 'doosra'; it is not possible. He put it on early.
"You could see how many times I smashed him over the off side while he was bowling it—I was that confident. When I saw the "doosra" behind his mark, I would estimate "four or six" since he had a stacked leg-side field due to the ball's extreme twisting.
"The ability to choose a bowler at the conclusion of his mark was one of the things I had... Next, I decided to believe what my eyes were telling me.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
