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KP to relish opening role

17 Feb 11 14:29
It may smell of desperation, panic and 'fuzzy thinking' but the very late decision to use Kevin Pietersen as an opener alongside Andrew Strauss may yet prove to be a shrewd one by Andy Flower, says Ralph Ellis.

I know that since 1969 you've been able to vote at 18. But 42 years later you've only got to look in most card shops to know that 21 is still considered the magic number at which you grow up.

I wonder then if there will be some significance about Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss becoming England's 21st opening partnership in just four years of One Day Internationals since the last World Cup. Coach Andy Flower is clearly hoping his latest experiment will signal a coming of age for his team.

It's an odd time to be testing the theory. Flower has built his very considerable reputation in two years in charge on meticulous planning, thorough preparation, and the execution of his plans and theories. Yet here we are, five days from England's first game against Holland, still trying to find a solution to a problem that seems to have dogged the side ever since One Day cricket was invented.

The original plan was for Steven Davies to keep wicket and do the job. Then Flower decided to ditch the Surrey man and hand that dual role to Matt Prior. A series of failures against Australia later and now it is Pietersen who will have to lead the way.

He started out yesterday with a typical KP cameo - three fours and a straight six before playing half a shot to get himself out, having scored 24 from 28 balls. Canada's Rizwan Cheema later put that into context by blasting 93 in 71 balls as his side fell 16 runs short of pulling off a famous victory. But as ever Pietersen talked a good game, insisting "I'm excited, I have a nice little feeling about it".

Actually, so have I, and even if it's a bit last minute I can understand Flower's thinking. Few players hit the ball harder or bat more aggressively than Pietersen, but at his best he's not, and never has been, just a slogger. Like Ian Botham many years ago he can be technically correct, and when Botham was promoted to open in one day cricket he responded with both discipline and runs. If KP does the same then a current price of 27.0 for him to be the tournament's top scorer looks well worth a flutter. He's also 4.6 to be England's most successful batsman.

KP has denied rumours that this World Cup will be his swansong from One Day International cricket, but the clock is ticking on his career. His ego gives him a drive to be the star of the show, and in his world his 227 at Adelaide was almost certainly the defining innings that turned the Ashes series England's way. Now he is being offered a golden chance to be a World Cup hero for the second time in less than 12 months - don't forget he was top scorer in the side that won the Twenty20 trophy in the West Indies last May. It might just be the magic formula that brings England's coming of age in this format too.

Five things you might not know about Rizwan Cheema

1.Born August 1978 in Gujarat, Pakistan, and although his elder brother was a good club cricketer Rizwan didn't play himself because his family kept moving from there to Lahore and back again

2.He was 20 when he emigrated to New York where his elder sister already lived, and two years later went to Canada in search of work.

3.He joined Popeye's Cricket Club in Toronto - named after a food chain run by fellow Pakistani immigrant Faisal Malik - and his big hitting talent was immediately obvious. He was Canada's cricketer of the year in 2005.

4.He was 30 when he made his international debut, and in his second appearance hit 89 off 61 deliveries against the West Indies

5.He was one of just six players awarded central contracts in 2009 when Canada began to turn the national team professional.


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