NEW DELHI: Former
England
batsman
Kevin Pietersen
has highlighted the importance of having a strong defense by stating that his success during the victorious 2012-13 tour of India was largely due to his unrelenting defensive exercises at the nets.
One of the greatest scores by a foreign batsman on a tour of India is Pietersen's 186 off 233 balls in the second Test in Mumbai.
After England was soundly defeated in the opening Test, the knock helped turn the tide and put the tourists on their path to their first series victory in India in 27 years. Since then, India have not lost a series at home.
"Getting runs is just going to be a fluke without a defence," the 43-year-old told Mike Atherton in a candid interview in The Times.
Pietersen's reflections offer a clear picture of the potential and obstacles that England will face in India as they prepare for the forthcoming five-match series.
Pietersen remembered that shadow-batting was something the English hitters did "all the time".
"We used to do this drill all the time in India, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and me. Rooty is spectacular, as good as anyone.
"It's about learning not to commit yourself on to the front foot; about waiting to pick the length of the ball, so you are not playing only with your hands.
"To do that, the drill is to hit any ball, wherever it pitches, through the off side."
"I'd spend time in the nets just defending; it's actually not negative to defend. The ability to defend gives you the confidence to be able to attack.
"Defend; play straight lines, don't plant your front foot; wait for the ball; don't play just with your hands. If you can do that and you have the wherewithal to be able to commit to a solid defence and trust it, then it allows you to loosen up," he added.
Pietersen's innings were notable for his deft handling of the variations, especially the 'doosra', that star Indian off-spinner
Ravichandran Ashwin
used.
Pietersen stated that the important thing is to adopt Ashiwn's delivery style because he will once more play a role in the overall scheme of things.
"I picked Ashwin's 'doosra'. He used to load the ball at the back of his run-up, and I think he still does that now. He never ran up with the ball in his hand as an off spinner and changed it late for the 'doosra'; you can't do that. He loaded it up early.
"I was 100 per cent confident when he was going to bowl it and you'd see how many times I hit him over the off side. I'd see the 'doosra' at the back of his mark and, because he had a stacked leg-side field because the ball was turning so much, I'd think four or six."
For the left-arm finger spinners, Pietersen said: "I faced (Ravindra) Jadeja a lot. It's about technique. Jadeja is not
Murali
and he's not Shane Warne. He's a left-arm spinner that bowls it one way, and occasionally, gets the ball to slide on. If your technique is solid enough to play the ball that skids on, you should be fine.
"If your feet are good, and you are not planting your front foot and you are playing down the line of the ball, you should be fine. Just make sure you are not getting bowled or lbw.
"If you nick it to slip, no problem at all. If you get bowled or lbw that's a big issue. You have so much time to wait for the ball and then judge length or line and then move."
During the series, Root made his Test cricket debut with a half-century. Root is one of the three remaining cast members from the series that concluded more than ten years ago, along with Jonny Bairstow and
James
Anderson.
Pietersen, who is a huge Root fan, stated that the English hitter is rediscovering himself and will be an important member of the visiting team.
"He waits for the ball. He doesn't commit; he plays off the back foot. He is so, so brilliant and so decisive on whether to go forward or back. He is the most fabulous player.
"And he is becoming an even better player because his range of stroke is broadening. Reverse-sweeping seamers shows an extravagance that is coming from someone who was quite correct for such a long period of time. He's reinventing himself and becoming a more dangerous player."
So can England deliver again?
"This tour depends on the spinners. I thought Panesar and (Graeme) Swann won that series for us. We got runs of course. Cookie got plenty; I got plenty and I know you still have to get runs.
"But, by the third Test of that series in Kolkata, their spinners were trying to bowl quickly because they were trying to emulate our spinners.
"Jimmy was incredible as well. His skill and reverse swing. That was one of Jimmy's best tours I think. He was amazing in Australia, but seam bowling is fine there, the way he was able to move the ball and the wickets he took.
"So the question is, can England deliver with the spinners they have? That's going to be what dictates the series. It's going to spin. I actually played in Vizag the other day. It spun and bounced in a T20 game!
"Given what happened in Cape Town the other week (India won on a pitch favourable to fast bowlers that was marked poor), they won't be shy in preparing something that spins and they will say, 'Let's see what you've got'."
The series begins with the Hyderabad Test on Thursday.
(With PTI inputs)
English (US) ·