Test Match Special - Kevin Pietersen: Mumbai 2012 in his own words

Episode Date: January 31, 2024

Kevin Pietersen looks back to November 2012 and his inredible innings of 186 against India in Mumbai. The 2012 series was the last time a touring team won a test series in India. The innings has since been compared to the recent heroics of Ollie Pope following his 196 against India which helped England to win the first match of a five test series.

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Hello and welcome to the Test Match Special podcast. I'm Daniel Norcross. England, a 1-0-up of the series against India so far, thanks to a sublime 196 from Oli Pope that's been described as one of the greatest ever innings by a visiting player to India, and one of the best by an Englishman overseas. One of the knocks it's been compared to

was Kevin Peterson's sensational 186 in Mumbai 12 years ago. That helped England recover from losing the first test. in Ahmedabad to send them on to victory in that series. Still, the last touring team to win a test series in India. Kevin Peterson talks us through that innings in his own words. Kevin Peterson has been left out of England's squad for the third test against South Africa at Lords in a statement. The ECB say whilst we've made every attempt to find a solution

to enable Kevin to be selected, we've sadly had to conclude that in the best interest of the team, he'll miss the Lord's test. Johnny Bairstow has been called into the squad. I think he's made more than one slip, if we're going on honest, it's not just all about these text messages. I think there's been an ongoing sort of dispute or disagreement between Kevin and the England management for quite some time.

And the fact that all this sort of stuff is going on has been a major distraction to the team. And England picked the group of players that they believe have got the best chance of winning a game. And I think the ECB have made the right decision by leaving Kevin out of this game. He retired from 50 over cricket and 2020 cricket as of his YouTube press conference or press release, media release,

he's now available for everything. What I suggested is it's a breach of team rules and regulations. These alleged text messages are obviously the century of it all, and he's been asked to apologise. Now, he's obviously not going to be at Lords, for those of the listeners. There is a test match starting on Thursday. It's Andrew Strauss, who's 100th test match.

We're 1-0 down. We need to win it to square the series. We need to win it to make sure we stay number one in the world. So this is a big distraction. It's something that everyone involved would rather do without. I'm Jonathan Agnew, and back in the summer of 2012, I and the rest of the cricket media were covering the incredible story of Kevin Peterson's text messages.

England's series against South Africa was overshadowed by the revelation that their starbats from Kevin Peterson who was sending what to describe as provocative text messages to his South African opponents, particularly about his captain Andrew Strauss. All chaos broke loose with everyone having this say. It really was the most defensive and I think unpleasant chapter of English cricket that I've covered in my 30 years.

He was dropped for the final test against South Africa at the Oval. Come the winter, England were faced with a tour of India, one of the hardest places to go in world cricket. They needed their star batsmen. Peterson was brought back into the team through a process that came to be known as reintegration. Things didn't start well with a comprehensive defeat for England in the first test at Amnabad by nine wickets. They went on to Mumbai.

And it was here that I, the rest of the test match special commentary team, including the Indian great Roaldrabbit, got to win as one of the most incredible, destructive innings by an Englishman or anyone in India that I've ever seen. I have to be honest, I think it's easily. And it includes a century that Kevin Peterson made in Colombia. I think it's the best innings I ever saw him play. This is the story of reintegration and runs from the man himself. self. Context going into the tour of Indian 2012 was one of my first tours, I think, having been back after the reintegration process. And it was a big tour. It was a tour where we needed all

our players playing well. We had a very strong team, a very confident team. Everybody knew what they were doing. Everybody understood their roles. We were training well. We were playing okay, we had raised the bar from any other England test team that I played, and this was going to be one of our greatest tests. We'd beaten Australia at home, we'd be in Australia away, but beating India away was obviously going to be an incredibly difficult experience. I remember having played a couple of warm-up games on that tour, and the opposition that India made us play again were against, we're playing against undernones, every single batter, belted it everywhere. We all thought that we were the best players that had ever toured India,

And then we get to Ahmedabad and we play on a wicket that is just a flat road that doesn't bounce higher than half a weapon stumps. Saywags, saywags us. And we end up getting completely annihilated. So the score goes along now. One ninety-one for nine. And Ojar is in. He's up to the wicket. He bowls.

And Swan drives and he has gone. He's been caught there. And the innings is over. Caught in the gully. and England are all out for 191. Swan has gone from... But I think having experienced those conditions in the test match, we knew that we were going to have to play spin a lot better.

I, for one, knew that I needed to play better. I know I wasn't hitting the ball as well, and I made a couple of silly errors whilst batting in their test match in Ometabat. Here's a ojat with a fresh over balls to Peterson. Bowling, bowling. Awful. shot awful shot just talking about left-arm spinners that's the guy but him the brains hasn't he he just tried to sweep it from off the stumps full length it's absolutely until he accepts that he does

have a problem his ego's getting in the way of him playing in a common sense way and i did i came under criticism but this wasn't huge to me every time i scored runs i was good every time i wasn't I was bad, so that wasn't something that I was too perturbed about. I was worried about my technique at the time and thinking, why was I making silly mistakes? Why were my feet not moving as much as they should be moving? Why was I not hitting the ball in the areas that I'd practice to hit the ball. And so I remember getting out in the second innings, and we were going to lose that test match. We were getting bowled out in that test match.

And I took, I think it was Andy Flower and Wistak Armad. I took them into the back of the nets and I batted with them for an hour. All I did is took off my test shirt, kept my pads, and I just said, this is just, I'm not hitting the ball well. I'm not hitting the ball like I should hit the ball. So I put on a training shirt and I walk straight out to the back of the net while we were getting bowled out. And I went and hit balls there for an hour and just made sure that I was in the right frame of mind to know that what I'd just done five minutes earlier in a test match wasn't what I was going to do in the next test match because sometimes you can walk out into the big arena and you can be a rabbit

in headlights and that happened to me often. And you can stand there and go, Jesus, Why am I not hitting the ball? I'm supposed to be hitting the ball? Why am I not doing what I did? But you can get overalled by all the excitement, the buzz, you've got silly point, short leg, don't eat here, slip. You've got all these people around you. It can just be so quick, and you just go, right, I'm out.

So I wanted to slow that whole process down. I wanted to keep the emotion intact. And the only way that I was going to do that was by concentrating on my defense and making sure that my defense against the spinners, Haribajan, Pragya Noja, Arrata, I rather Chandran Ashwin. I was going to make sure that my defense against those guys was going to be solid. So I went to just practice my defense, my feet, making sure I was picking length, making sure that I was working on where I was going to hit the ball, how I was going to hit the ball.

And that's what I did for the three days leading up to that Mumbai test match, the next test match. But, yeah, I mean, I can only speak from my own personal experience of Medabad and say that it was very disappointing because what I had practiced, I got caught up in just how quick the process happened around me. Ojar again, comes in round the wicket bowels to Peterson. Peterson. That's out.

Bowled him. That's out. Come forward and that is the end of Peterson. His middle stump is lying flat on the ground. And at Darrowdale from England's point of view, the Indians are in transports of delight, as you would imagine. I didn't need point of proof to anyone in regards to my batting. My batting was what my batting was. And whenever I crossed that wide line, that famous test mentioned, Headingley,

where I had the worst week of my Indian career and I was able to play the way that I played there because I feel like I'm completely free-spirited when I walk out over the white line and I can make good decisions. I can make bad decisions. You've got to learn to understand that you have more bad days than good days when you're playing international cricket. You don't score 100 every day. You have more low scores than you have chest hundreds. And so when you understand that and realize that you're going to fail, accept failure, understand failure, understand that you're human for myself. that I can continue to be that free spirit whenever I cross the white line, that's just what I wanted to do and that's just how I played and I never wanted to go out and prove

a point to anyone. That out comes Peterson with eight minutes to go before tea and is facing a left arm spinner. And don't make a cup of tea, ladies and gentlemen, if you're up, you want to listen. If you're going to go to work, I should wait 10 minutes. Do not miss this. This is electric. This is what you wait for. England's best player.

against the turning ball the left arm spinner which he has no problem against they don't cause him any problem whatsoever but everybody sit on the edge of the chair I could tell you all sorts here about how I walked out to bat thinking

whatever I was thinking one thing I do know is that walking out to bat in Mumbai the previous few days of practice were some of the best days that I'd had practicing in an England shirt the way that I'd solved the issue of my foot movement from I met about the way I was striking the ball, the way I was hitting the ball and the way I was trusting my defence. I knew that I had a chance.

Peterson is coming up to the non-strikers end. He's having a quick chat there with Alastair Cook. They touch gloves. But what a time is for Peterson to walk out to bat. I passed in this morning. I was going back from breakfast to my room and he was going off on the same floor. He's paid extra, I believe, to be. being the best part of the hotel where the team of you obviously jeffrey we're over on the other side you never yes yes we are yes we are wow unlucky so you're in the posh part and you saw kp yes right lovely room what did he say beautiful now we spoke and um i said uh like hope you get a little bit of look and he said yeah we're in a bit of trouble aren't we i said well not really i said you

best player. You just get a bit of fortune. You never know. You'll creep you. I actually think that. Look, he does deaf things. I told it as I saw it in Amman, but he's our best player. He played a fantastic innings in Colombo. Now here goes Harbyshan, round the wicket, bowels to cook. Suddenly great tension out there and lost two wickets. You've got to be churlish and mean-spirited if you think that innings in Colombo and that one he played it ahead and he weren't fantastic in it. They were out of this world. And there were just some days when I walked out to bat where I knew I'd get runs. Just, that's it.

You weren't getting me out today. It was as simple as me taking guard and putting my bat down. And I just said to myself, well, here we go. Good luck. And that's what it was. But as many of those days that I had, I had quite a few days too, where I would take guard. I'd ask the young parts, they could have leg stump please. I'd mark leg stump.

I'd look around the field. I'd put my back down. And, geez, I would go, oh, no, this is chaos. I'm going to have to fight like anything here to get myself to 10. And on a number of those occasions, I couldn't get myself to 10 because things just didn't feel right. But I do remember walking out to bat, taking guard at the One Caddy Stadium. And when I put my back down, it felt exactly the same way as I was practicing. Felt exactly the same way as I was playing the spinners in the nets.

And I knew that that day, I was going to get runs. I didn't know how many I was going to get, but I was going to get runs. It was just one of those days. Zahey goes in, Bolster Peterson, turned away down towards fine legs, running down towards the boundary. Fielder down there, Yuvraj won't get there this time. And that is four runs, and that is the 100 partnership. Listen out for the applause,

and I can see some England supporters in the top tier of the DeVeccia Pavilion there. They're on their feet applauding. These two put together a stand of 103, and they do meet in mid-pitch and touch gloves. And that is a fine partnership. Well, plays pitch. Well played to both of them, I think.

You know, England needed a big performance from there. senior players they needed a partnership lost two quick wickets they lost Compton and they lost Jonathan Trott for naught they needed a partnership and these two have got it pushed India on the back foot they scored quickly hardly any chances Simon I don't think it's been a curious day expected wickets and real struggle for England to score runs but these two have well they haven't just defended they've been Full of positive intent, especially Peterson. He's there on 58 with that boundary, 58 with 77 balls. Andrew? 100 partnership of 162 balls. The 12th between these two. The average 65 has appeared together in 52 partnerships.

Only Sutcliffe and Hobbs with 15 and Stars and Cook with 14, a bit more, century partnership for England. He's come at a very good rate. Here's Harbourjan, bowling to Cook, and leans forward. Plays towards extra cover, past the silly point fielder. I don't remember the conversations I had with Kocky because we always used to just say, yep, okay, well done, keep going, the generic conversation that you have. He was a left-hander, I was a right-hander.

The one thing we always did say to each other was to make sure we're picking link, make sure you just continue to pick length well and run hard. And that's what we did. We picked length incredibly well. He manipulated the field and bored the life out of everybody, which was exactly what he did. And I don't mean that in a bad way at all. I mean that in a really positive way

that was able to get unbelievable miles into all those bowlers' lakes and into their shoulders. While I was trying my best to do slap area on the other side, and it was just our partnership that was able to build and build and build and build like that because bowlers had to bowl in different ways to both of us. 232 for two. Peterson on 97.

Harbourjan goes in to bowl to him, and he tries the reverse sweep. It's coming down. Fine. And that is going to be his hundred. What an audacious way to bring up your century. A nonchalant reverse sweep. Brilliant from Peterson.

His third brilliant hundred of the year. What a year it's been. Mixed with controversy as well. Peterson is back. His 22nd test match, 100. He joins Boycott, Hammond, Cowdrey and Cook. In the space of 10 minutes, Cook and Peterson have notched their 22nd centrist for England to join those three.

three others. What a shot to get there, Simon. I mean, unbelievable. It just shows, I mean, it's just a skill. I guess the skill of Kevin Peterson to be able to execute that kind of shot at 97. I wouldn't have tried it. I would have gone for the quiet three singles.

Remarkable player. And a great hundred. Terrific fighting hundred. When they start throwing those names around, I feel quite weird to be a part of all that. And I think that's where I've been since I've finished playing. look at my numbers, you see the records, and it just doesn't seem real. It seems fairly surreal that all of this has happened to me and the life that I live now out in the countryside

and the stuff that I get up to now, all that stuff just feels so surreal. It just doesn't, it doesn't feel like it actually happened. And so, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, I mean, I've never listened to the radio commentary of me going to hundreds or any special days. I thought, you always watch the TV and you see the TV. But, yeah, radio, I suppose, paints such a beautiful picture. So to hear that kind of stuff makes me feel happy and it's great to reflect on it. But it also sort of surreal.

I also remember since I've finished playing how I've gone back to Africa, I found my African roots and I'm heavily involved in the world of conservation and I spent a lot of time in the bush as a simple, simple kid with no. shoes on just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, running around, caring for animals, looking after people, doing bits and pieces. So when I know that the world that I'm living at the moment is so different to me, scoring test hundreds, it doesn't feel like it's real, actually. It feels like it's completely made up, and it was somebody else. And here is OJR again in both piece and pieces and helps her. It's sad away. For six, I should think, to midwicket. It's, yes, it's

gone for six umpah hill signals the same peterson down on one knee a slog sweep and that's his 150 what a way to get there 155 he raises his bat all the way around the ground looking a bit like the statue of liberty when he did that and the crowd roaring the Indians enjoying this it's a marvelous innings it's a marvelous piece of batting 155 talk about a rehabilitation innings this is it I don't know if it felt like a reintegration. It was certainly emotional because of everything that had happened. Was it just basically covering a lot of cracks? Well, it turned out to be like it, that it was a complete covering over the crack scenario.

But I just loved batting. I just wanted to be batting for England, and I just wanted to be scoring runs. I wanted to be winning games for England. And I think that's probably my proudest achievement that I think up to date, I've still got more man of the matches for England. or I'm up there with Man of the Matches for England. And that, I think, is something that is incredibly pleasing because that's the kind of stuff that you look back in your career and you just think, well, yep, they were man of the match performances.

Kevin Peterson's, I mean, 50, just 201 balls, 194s, two sixes, in there for 268 minutes. This is 10th score of 150 in test record, which equals the English record. Len Hutton and Wally Hammond got 10 each as well. When he gets him, he gets him so quick, and just takes the game away from the opposition. He has such a wide range of shots.

And even yesterday, when he batted sensibly, didn't make any false shots, didn't play against the spin or anything. He was still scoring around about 70s, wasn't he? He scores quickly without trying to, and then if he gets going, then he just butcher the bowling. I know I travel to India a lot as well now, and Indians always say it's the best, or certainly a lot of the broadcasters say it's the best innings

that's ever been played by a foreign-on Indian soil. And again, that doesn't feel right because it doesn't feel like it's me because of the world that I live in now. So I was able to do some fun things. I was able to do some cool things. And hearing the radio celebrate those moments is something that I've never heard before.

So it makes me smile. Then goes Ojo once again, round the wicket bowls. And Peterson's already down on that left knee. He gets a little of the top edge as he sweeps. It'll probably runaway for fours, the field is streaking around that boundary who dives full length i think takes the ball with him he does it's four more a little bit top edgy but peterson's just hitting the ball all over the base at the moment some of it intentionally some of it just a little touch of edge but the lead now 41 and i think

ought to put his things into context raoul i mean you can't this is a wonderful thing isn't it yeah it's been fantastic i mean it's when you look at the score he's got one what how many balls i'm 180 and 2-25 balls you think he's playing on a flat flat wicket somewhere but it's you know it's turned it's bounced and his batting after 100 has been exceptional some of the shots that he's hit the couple of sixes over deep mid-wicket against the left-arm spinner the shot over extra cover as well he's a remarkable bat so he's a one-off incredible to think that all those things have been said about

something that I've done because it seems such a long time ago that it doesn't seem real But to think and cast my mind back to it, the reason why they say that that innings was so special was because of the amount that the ball was spinning and bouncing at that stadium. Now, my immediate answer to that as I do discuss this for so many people, especially in Indians, that the ball was spinning too much. So I wasn't able to nick it. I wasn't good enough to nick the ball. And that was my philosophy that's okay. I'm going to play in less. Yes, he went back there and I just have a look.

It's turned and actually beaten the outside edge and missed the off stump. Well, that one, yes. Not far from the edge. Donie almost in play there. It's a good ball. Oja, I think there's no justice.

There's going to be balls here that are going to play and miss, and it's going to happen. It is, it's going to happen. But let me tell you, when I connect, she's going to go. Here's Oger, and that's a remarkable shot of a number of bizarre strokes. Peterson has played.

He's just lofted Oja over extra cover for six. It was rather like somebody swatting a mosquito. That's all I can describe it as. It was just a sort of a swish of the bat. And it has flown over extra cover for six. That's an amazing. So he stood tall and swatted it, didn't he, disdainfully?

I never let them bowl to me. And I didn't want to let them bowl to me. I knew that my defence was in such good order with the preparation that I'd gone into that test match to know that if they bowed their best ball, I could defend it, and every single time I walked out to bat knowing that I was in complete control of defending their best ball, then I knew that it was a day that I was going to get runs, and well, it wasn't guaranteed 100 for sure, but at least I knew that that was the day

that I was going to get. And a lot of those, a lot of the times when I played shots that people with the what on earth, are you playing that shot for in your 20s and your 30s and you've given away a test. It was because I was playing so well, and in my mind, I was playing as well as I could do anything. And my defense was so good that I could literally hit the ball wherever I wanted to hit the ball. And that was what I felt a lot of the time when I played. And I got criticized on how many occasions, stupid shot, careless shot, reckless shot, why has he done that? And it's just, well, I did that because I thought that I could actually hit a thing. That's what I

did. That was my mindset. Osia to Peterson tossed up. Is he caught behind? Yes, he is. He went for the drive, got the edge, through to Donie. Osia celebrates. Peterson immediately walked off. A couple of the Indians walk over to pat him on the back and congratulate him. Peterson's magnificent innings is over. He has gone, caught behind. It's 382 for six. The lead is 55. The flags away. They're standing up around the ground, celebrating and applauding as well, applauding their team and applauding Peterson's wonderful innings. What an exceptional innings it's been from Kevin Peterson. 186 of the best of 233 balls.

The Indians will be mighty pleased to see the back of him. It's great to see the whole crowd has stood up to applaud the England dressing room standing up to applaud what's been a fantastic innings. You are pleasantly surprised at how. loud the balmy army are and how brilliant their supporters and how good they make you feel and how dedicated they are to the england cricket team something i never took for granted i was never one to go and socialize with barmey i wasn't really a great socialized and i never have been and i never will be a great socializing going out and drinking with people and doing all sorts of things that other players

would maybe do. But I hold the greatest deal of respect for the Barmy Army. I love the Barmy Army. And they were certainly very, very loud on many an occasion. In Australia, every time he toured the Caribbean, at the One Keddy Stadium in particular, that tour in Sri Lanka and some afternoon spells when our bowlers were absolutely rooted. and the Barmy army would start singing Colombo or goal.

We as England cricketers are very fortunate to have such passionate, such knowledgeable and such committed fans. We've got three men back, long off, deep cover, deep back of square leg, Panasar bolster, Saywag, who leans forth, he's caught. He's caught in the gully. Panasar has made the breakthrough. Seawag pushed forward, and Graham Swan took the catch low down, and India have lost their first wicket.

They are 30 for one and Saywag is out for nine. Swan who mops his brow, gives the ball a rub, dries his left hand on the back of his trousers, spins himself a catch, turns round and comes in again now, bells over the wicket. And this is caught, caught on the leg side, and Pajara is out. This is first failure of the series. Cours at short leg and very well too, I think by Bairsto, who went very quickly, very quickly indeed to his left. indeed to his left. And Pujara fails for the first time.

He's out for six. And Swan takes a wicket in his first over. And that is a big wicket. Panasar and Swan were bowling so fast and getting the ball to really sip and spin at such a rate of knots. That was the deciding factor in that tour. Panasar it is. He's in now. He bowed.

Oh, they've got red. LVW. He's gone. And Panasar's got him. LVW. He went. back and he might think another time he should have gone forward. It scuttled through onto him.

He was absolutely plumb. And umpire Alim Dar confirmed the decision immediately. Tendulka walks quickly off like a man who wants to get it over with as quick as he can. The crowd is standing. This may be the last time they see him in a test match with his pads on here at the Wankheady Stadium or anywhere else in Bombay. He's walking into a sort of eerie island. combined with a sort of farewell applause.

It's a wonderful moment for England, a moment of devastation for Tendulka and India. Indian spinners started to try and bowl like us, and then when we went and played against them in Kolkata, it was like, what are you guys doing? You're not even bowling the way you're supposed to be bowling. That's why we won that test match. Every ball, and I have to, you're right, Rahul.

And I know England have taken a couple of wickets, so it is different, but you just feel that Panasar and Swan are more threatening than, for India's spillers. The ball at a better length, Jonathan, they've pitched the ball up on this wicket game. They've used the rough a lot better I feel than the three Indian spinners. And that's why we were able to defend that draw in Nagpole.

This might be the last ball. In goes Gambier, and he bowls it, and it's just blocked away into the leg side. And let's see what happens now. Ian Bell, I think he's going to shake hands. They do shake hands, he turns. And M.S. Doni, the Indian captain, taps him on the back to say he well played.

He's 116 not out. And Joe Ruta, I see he's already. Grabbed a stump at this end. What a memorable match for him in which to make his debut as England draw this final test of the series and win their first series in India for 28 years. And there's handshakes, there's hugs, there's embraces. Satisfaction and achievement because I do rank that

win as a team, as a series, one of my greatest as well. 2005, amazing. A Tweeting 10 World Cup, amazing. The 2012 beating of India in India. year. Top three. Those are the top three. That was Kevin Peterson talking us through that thrilling innings in Mumbai in 2012. It's been compared by many people to Ollie Pope's 196 in Hyderabad. England won in 2012. Can they do it again in 2024?

Jonathan Agnew will be joined by Phil Tuffinor, Deep Dasgupta, Alex Hartley and Mark Ramprakash throughout the second test for the definitive podcast at close of play each day. And don't forget, there's plenty more reaction. and news on the BBC Sport website and app. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. The drama. They're having to be separated. They've both been shown the red card.

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