Sport - Cricket

Kevin Pietersen stars in England’s big win

— Photo: AP

POWER PLAY: Kevin Pietersen’s unbeaten century took England to a formidable total.

CHESTER-LE-STREET: Kevin Pietersen is a showman and his hundred at the Riverside as England defeated New Zealand in the first one-day international might as easily have fitted into a three-ring circus, even though it was error-free.

His undefeated 110 was his first ODI century in this country and his first anywhere since the World Cup. Spectacularly, it included two sixes hit left-handed off Scott Styris high, wide and wilful over mid-off. Or mid-on if you prefer his second choice of stance. The second time Styris put his hands on his hips and laughed. What other choice had he?

Of course, Pietersen has pulled this stroke before, against Muttiah Muralitharan of all controlling bowlers at Edgbaston, so in a sense he is repeating old tricks. It is still well worth the entrance money.

His fourth-wicket stand of 136 with the England captain Paul Collingwood who made no attempt to disguise the fact he was disgusted to get out for 64 at a run-a-ball on his home ground enabled the side to lay down a formidable target of 308.

Owais Shah followed the big stand with another riotous innings when he made 49, including 16 off the 48th over bowled by Kyle Mills.

Shah will have opened many pairs of eyes with this blitz but he was mainly responsible for the 109 off the last 10 overs, the 47 off the last three and 31 off teenager Tim Southee’s last two.

By that time, the New Zealand side was in tatters and, even though Shah hit his 49 off 25 balls with four fours and three sixes, it was all down to Pietersen.

He dominated proceedings from the moment he went in at 49 for one in the 12th over after the pinch hitter Luke Wright batted 33 balls for 11. Perhaps he was meant to be a pinch blocker for at the other end Ian Bell struck 12 off the first over.

Pietersen’s 12th Test hundred only 10 days ago, his undefeated 40 in the Twenty20 victory 48 hours earlier and his previous five one-day centuries have all shown us what a devastating stroke player he is.

His height, his timing, his strength and his ferocity can daunt a bowler long before he takes his turn to bowl, but even when his arm goes over the bowler cannot imagine what will happen.

It is difficult to believe but England ought to have made more than 307 but New Zealand, as befits a fighting ODI side, plugged the gaps and the scoring rate dropped dramatically so that Collingwood had to show the way with his run-a-ball gallop to 64.

New Zealand used the same ploy as England. Jamie How waited for a bad ball before he played shots, but Brendon McCullum raced to 36 so that fifty came up in the eighth over, compared with the 11 needed by England.

McCullum was caught at point in the ninth over and the 16,000 crowd went quiet as the chances of an exciting finish seemed to depend on a long innings from this dynamic batsman. By the 15th over New Zealand was well off the pace when James Marshall was run out by a direct hit from Collingwood. Marshall had made just four from 25 balls.

Until the half way mark New Zealand tracked England’s score run for run but when it lost Styris at 116 for five it needed not so much a miracle as a clone of Pietersen to accelerate their chase.

The Kiwis lost by 114 runs after Collingwood picked up four wickets in 17 balls.

England: I. Bell (run out) 46, L. Wright c Vettori b Mason 11, K. Pietersen (not out) 110, R. Bopara c & b Styris 4, P. Collingwood b Vettori 64, O. Shah c How b Southee 49, T. Ambrose (not out) 1; Extras (lb-3, w-9, nb-10): 22; Total (for five wkts. in 50 overs): 307.

Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-84, 3-95, 4-231, 5-304.

New Zealand bowling: Mills 10-1-59-0, Southee 10-1-68-1, Mason 10-0-62-1, Vettori 10-0-38-1, Styris 8-0-63-1, Taylor 2-0-14-0.

New Zealand: J. How c Wright b Broad 20, B. McCullum c Bell b Broad 36, J. Marshall (run out) 4, R. Taylor c Sidebottom b Wright 20, S. Styris c Anderson b Swann 18, D. Flynn c Ambrose b Swann 34, G. Hopkins c Bopara b Collingwood 25, D. Vettori c Anderson b Collingwood 8, K. Mills c Wright b Collingwood 7, T. Southee c Bell b Collingwood 6, M. Mason (not out) 0, Extras (lb-12, w-3): 15; Total (in 42.5 overs): 193.

Fall of wickets: 1-52, 2-61, 3-72, 4-101, 5-116, 6-165, 7-179, 8-180, 9-187 (Mills).

England bowling: Anderson 8-0-45-0, Sidebottom 8-1-43-0, Broad 8-2-16-2, Swann 10-1-45-2, Wright 6-0-17-1, Collingwood 2.5-0-15-4.

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