Test Match Special - Kevin Pietersen on his stunning Mumbai century

Episode Date: January 29, 2021

As England prepare to take on India, Kevin Pietersen looks back on the last time a touring side won there, particularly his stunning century in Mumbai that turned the series around. The former England batsman talks us through how he turned round his form from a difficult first Test, what he was thinking when walking to the crease, and just what it feels like to smash the Indian bowlers all around the ground. Along with the Test Match Special commentary from the innings, KP takes you back to one of the greatest innings played by an overseas batsman in India.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. The Dakar Rally is the ultimate off-road challenge. Perfect for the ultimate defender. The high-performance Defender Octa, 626 horsepower twin turbo V8 engine and intelligent 6D dynamics air suspension. Learn more at landrover.ca. 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 to honestly, 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 I've 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 that these alleged text messages are obviously the century of it all

and he's been asked to apologize. guys. 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 2020. 12, 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 star bats from Kevin Peterson have been 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 their 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 five. 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 batsman. 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 Ahmed by nine wickets. They went on to Mumbai. And it was here that I and the rest of the test match special commentary team, including the Indian great Rahaldravid, got to win us 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 that 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. Context going into the tour of India in 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 OK. We had raised the bar from any other England test team that I've played. And this was going to be one of our greatest tests. We'd beaten Australia at home.

We'd been 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 under-nines. Every single batter belted it everywhere. We all thought that we were the best players that had ever taught 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 halfway up the stumps. Saywags, saywags us. And we end up getting completely annihilated. So the score goes along now. One-ninety-one for nine. And Oja is in.

He's up to the wicket. He bowled. 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 three. 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 our medabad. Here's OJat with a fresh overbows to Peterson. Bowling, bowling. Awful shot, awful shot. Just talking about left-arm spinners. That's the guy about him the brains, hasn't he? He just tried to sweep it from off the stumps, full-end. 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 new to me. Every time I scored runs, I was good, every time 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 Ahmed. 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 had 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 happen 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 donie here slip you got all these people around you 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, Harvajan, Pragya Noja, I was going to make sure that my defense against those guys was going to be solid. So I went and just practiced 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 a medabad and say that it was very disappointed. because what I'd practice, I got caught up in just how quick the process happened around me. Ojar again comes in round the wicket bowels to Peterson. That's out.

Bowles 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 white line, that famous test match in 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 test 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, I know 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. 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 Ahmedabad, 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-striker's end. He's having a quick chat there as Alistair Cook.

They touch gloves. But what a time is for Peterson to walk out to bat. I passed him 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 in the best part of the hotel

where the team... Well, serve you, obviously, Geoffrey. We're over on the other side? You never. Of course we are. Oh, yeah? 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 I said, 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 but really I said you I said you're our best player you just get a bit of fortune

you never know you'll creep you I don't I actually think that I look he does deaf things I told it as I saw it in Amnum but he's our best player he played a fantastic innings in Colombo now here goes Harbyshan round the wicket

bowls 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 On that one, he played it, had him, and he weren't fantastic in it. They were out of this world. 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, oh, 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 pats, they could have leg stumped, please. I'd mark leg stump, I'd look around the field, I'd put my back. back down and geez I would go oh no this is 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 kiddie 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. Zahir goes in, bolster Peterson, turned away down towards fine legs, running down towards the boundary. Fielder down there, Uvaj 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, and 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 on this pitch. played to both of them. I think, you know, England needed a big performance from their senior players. They needed a partnership. They 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 to know. 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 with 12th between these two the average 65 has appeared together in 52 partnerships only Sutcliffe and Hobbs with 15 and Starson Cook with 14

a bit more with Century Partnership for England He's coming 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 Cookie 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 and i don't mean that in a bad way at all i mean that in a really positive way that he was able to get unbelievable miles into all those bowlers legs and into into their shoulders while i was trying my best to do slap ari on the other side and it's 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 2. Peterson on 97. Harbourgian 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. Cowdery and Cook

in the space of 10 minutes Cook and Peterson have notched their 22nd centrist for England to join those three others What a shot to get there Simon I mean

unbelievable just shows I mean this is 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 would have gone for the quiet three singles remarkable player and a great hundred terrific fighting hundred

when they start putting 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 you 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, it's, it's, it's, I mean, I've never listened to the hundred or any special days of, well, 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. It's, I also remember since I've finished playing, how I've gone back to Africa, I've 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 Ojar again in both pieces and pieces and helps it, 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 marvellous innings. It's a marvellous 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 love batting. I just wanted to be batting for England. And I just wanted to be scored.

running 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'm 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 his 10th score of 150 in test rate, which equals the English record.

Len Hutton and Wally Hammond got 10 each as well. When he gets him, you see, he gets him so quickly 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 you know he just butchers the bowling i know i travel to india a lot as well now and indians always say it's the best or certainly the 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 Oja once again, round the wicket bowls.

Peterson's already down on that left knee. He gets a little of a top edge as he sweeps. He'll probably run away for fours. A 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 for a little. little touch of age but the lead now 41 and I think all 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 one how many balls I'm doing 180 and two to five two to five 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 hundreds been exceptional some of the shots that he's hit the couple of sixes over deep mid wicket of against the left-arm

spinner the shot over extra cover as well No, he's a remarkable battle. 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 with so many people, especially in India,

is that the ball is 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 it's okay. I'm going to play and miss. Yes, he went back there and let's 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 didn't play there. It's a good ball. Oger, 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 lost in 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 shot. 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 I 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 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 criticised on how of the 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 he's he caught behind yes he is he went for the drive got the edge through to Donie Osia celebrates Peterson immediately walked off

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 are waving. 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 Barmy 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 Barmi. I wasn't really a great socialised and I never have been and I never will be a great socialiser 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 Kedys 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 Gore we as England cricket as 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 with square leg Panasar bowls to say

wagons for his call he's caught in the gully Panasara's 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 Seawag 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 that's his court caught in the leg side

and Pajara is out. This is first failure of the series. Course at short leg and very well too, I think by Beirsto, who went very quickly, very quickly 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 zip and spin at such a rate of knots. That was the deciding factor in that tour with Panasar it is he's in now he bowed him get red LVW he's gone and Panasar's got him LBW he went back and he might think another time he should have gone

forward it's scuttled through onto him he was absolutely plum and umpire alimdar confirmed the decision immediately tendalca walks quickly off like a man who wants to get it over with as quick as he can the crowd is standing at this may be the last time they see him in the a test match with his pads on here at the Wankhairedy Stadium or anywhere else in Bombay. He's walking into a sort of eerie silence combined with a sort of farewell applause. It's a wonderful moment for England, a moment of devastation for Tendulka and India. The Indian spinners started to try and bowl like us, and then when we went and played against them in Kolkata, she was like, what are you guys doing?

You're not even bowling the way that 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 India's spinners. The ball in a better length, Jonathan, they've pitched the ball up on this wicket. 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 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, as embraces. Satisfaction and achievement because I do rank that win as a team, as a series, one of my greatest as well. 2005, amazing. They're tweeting 10 World Cup. Amazing.

The 2012 beating of India in India. Top three. Those are the top three. That was Kevin Peterson talking us through his incredible innings in Mumbai. England won that match by 10 wickets. They went on to win again in Congress. cutter before drawing the final test in Nugpur. No visiting team has won a test series in India since. Well, can England match that feat this time around? The first test in Chennai begins on

Friday. There will be coverage on the BBC Sport website and app as well as a daily test match special podcast at the end of every day's play with me, Jonathan Agnew, Michael Vaugh and many of your test match special regulars. Thank you.