Pietersen packs a punch
The England selectors only announced the inevitable.
The cries had been getting hoarse from fans as well as former English cricketers to opt for 25-year-old Kevin Pietersen against the touring Australians, ahead of the ageing Graham Thorpe.
In less than six months Pietersen has become a phenomenon in English cricket. Brash and bold, the 25-year-old is yet not quite English. He hails from South Africa, dyes his hair weird and glares back at Glenn McGrath.
Now he's one of England's keys to the Ashes urn.
Photographs: Getty Images
