Kevin Pietersen 158 vs. Australia, The Oval, September 2005

This was the most important Ashes innings by an England batsman since Ian Botham demoralised Australia on the opening day of the 1986-87 series in Brisbane. And it almost never happened. When Pietersen came out to bat on the last day of the series in 2005 with England needing a draw to secure their first Ashes win in 18 years, Glenn McGrath had just removed Michael Vaughan and Ian Bell in consecutive balls. His hat-trick delivery struck Pietersen on the shoulder and rebounded to gully - only for umpire Billy Bowden to correctly rule not out.
More tension was to follow. In the next over, Matthew Hayden dropped a tough chance at slip as Pietersen, still yet to score, pushed forward nervously at Shane Warne. And when Warne himself dropped a straightforward catch at slip when Pietersen, on 15, edged a drive off Brett Lee, it seemed clear which side the Gods had decided to smile on.
But there was plenty of work to be done.
www.cricinfo.com/kevinpieterse...
Lawrence Booth, Cricinfo
Footage courtesy Channel 4, Sunset and Vine.

[@redfowlham]

Lee was bowling quick here, seriously quick. Not many batsmen could've survived the onslaught let alone take it on and smash him round the park. Unforgettable memories from a truly brilliant player. Thanks KP.

[@ryanwebb5082]

+redfowlham I remember Lee was into his 20th over, bowling at 93mph, knowing the Ashes had slipped. Really showed his character.

[@tylerdurden786]

There was one spell on the evening of the last day just before Mcgrath dismissed KP, Lee was bowling consistently in the 90's and clocked 97mph at one point.

[@hshshsussujsjs9267]

redfowlham well said

[@jaykrishnan1398]

So.many batsmen hit lee out of the park... he looses his control under pressure unlike mcgrath.

[@Xallisto1]

3:03 is fucking fast fast ball.

[@talhaahmed6805]

Warrior material this guy was. To take on Lee, Mc Grath, Warne, Tait all by himself. A true GEM

[@FernandoNINETorres]

Say what you want about Warne, that was real class he showed at the end.

[@furdiebant]

FernandoNINETorres top bloke

[@paultheotherone1]

Of course the obvious reasons was they were both playing for Hampshire at the time.

[@nandamuriramesh]

but what about 5:17 ????

[@Xallisto1]

I like him a hell of a lot more now hes retired lol.

[@ilikemilkshake22]

Game recognise game

[@stevespeight1674]

I rang in sick that day, and I dont regret it for a second. Amazing knock.

[@davidmasson3830]

"What do you do when you are 25 years old and you have played the innings of your life?" Richie Benaud

[@ayushkanyal3163]

Play 2 more innings of 158 And become the onky batsmen tk make the highest same score thrice

[@aroundtheworld2157]

One of the greatest batsman of all time Brave and Powerful batsman

[@liamdunphy7496]

Not even too 3 in England’s history

[@ruchirmundhra6716]

@@liamdunphy7496 doesn't matter he has been much more impactful than your top 3

[@Imrankniazi]

The intensity in that series was unbelieveable. I watched all the tests and can't believe it's been 5 years. McGrath, Flintoff, Jones, Lee, Warne, KP, Vaughan, Trescothick -- all on top of their game and you could almost feel their passion through the TV set :-) One of the best, if not the best, Test series I've had the privilege to see.

[@jupiter-8405]

Kevin Pietersen was tough as nails mentally to stride out there and perform like he did from his test series debut against the worlds best side.

[@crugga]

15 fours and 7 sixes in your 5th test against the best attack in the world in an extremely high pressure situation. That to me is a great innings. Bare in mind he was a one day player at this point, his instinct was to hit. Check his double hundred against Aus in 2010 for a more elegant and refined innings.

[@AlonsoRules]

Given the stakes, this was one of the greatest innings in Test Cricket history

[@RaferJeffersonIII]

10 years, feels like yesterday. What a knock, the best knock in the best series of all time, against the best bowling attack of all time, on that sunny day when the whole of England (and Wales) stood still and waited for the 3 lions to awaken from an 18 year slumber and roar and rout the old enemy and send them south one urn lighter than when they arrived

[@slothfromthegoonies8201]

The average wage in the UK is about 20x higher than it is in India, and we don't have hundreds of millions of people living in slums and shitting in the streets.

[@mrkey6523]

Attention.

[@mrkey6523]

Attention seeker.

[@mrkey6523]

Attention seeker.

[@robcalvert8830]

Any attack that has Shaun Tait in isn't the best bowling attack of all time.

[@dipak1201]

it was an awesome battle between KP and Brett Lee!!! what a wonderful Ashes series that was...

[@GurpreetSingh-by5ih]

shane warne had nightmares of sachin but here full australian players alongwith fans have nightmares of KP

[@adriancooper554]

What a player KP was... One of the finest innings you will ever see... In with out doubt the finest ever series. Full of amazing skills from warnie and pace from Brett Lee and our own Freddie Flintoff.

[@veeraj291]

When ever i watch this i feel proud of being his Fan . What an outstanding innings. That standing ovation by crowd was mesmerising.

[@pruthvirajchaudhari7653]

I've never seen someone slaughter Lee and Warne like that.

[@nationalisticguy4867]

Sachin Tendulkar, forgot that name?

[@ibrahimraza9680]

@@nationalisticguy4867 he never EVER slaughtered them played good a few times but LOL never destroyed them so stop trying to bring Indians in everything 😂😂😂

[@nationalisticguy4867]

@@ibrahimraza9680 1998 Sharjah... Tendulkar Slaughtered Warne. Btw Gayle slaughtered Lee many a times

[@ibrahimraza9680]

@@nationalisticguy4867 by slaughtered he means systematic destruction tiring the bowler out making him lose faith in themself and no one done that better than Pietersen here - and he said BOTH not only one Gayle slaughtered Lee never Warne

[@234CHRISTY]

Have you heard the name Sachin Tendulkar?

[@daviddbell1987]

great sportsmanship by Shane Warne there

[@wakeupshivi]

Warnie is always been great with it that's why he is one of the most loved cricketers!!

[@jeremygraves1720]

true, but, also, that was the moment of surrender... from hereonin, we are playing lip service

[@georgearthur205]

So many great moments in this amazing series. Tremendous sportsmanship also from both teams. Miles from the Ashes series of today. 2005 was truly sensational

[@kanwalgill3853]

Agreed my favorite series. From India

[@iainsanders8517]

I was there at the Oval and hearts were in mouths when he came out but he played the innings of his life and look what a great batsman he became for England!

[@surajssubramanian7327]

The best stroke player alongside Viv Richards. Lara was brilliant against spin. Sachin was brilliant against pace. But against all kinds of bowling Pietersen and Richards were superb.

[@ethicaldisaster]

Lara and Sachin were superb against spin and pace

[@Zeratul123able]

@@ethicaldisaster arguably better against much better too

[@tracewoods5980]

To me the greatest innings in the history of cricket. Dropped catches what do you mean the rest of the 158 was no piece of cake.Making Warne and McGrath like school kids is no kidding.

[@cheesemccheese5780]

@@ethicaldisaster He meant in terms of stroke play and aggression.

[@cheesemccheese5780]

@@Zeratul123able Lara and Tendulkar weren't much better than Viv against spin and pace.

[@charvey101]

Absolutely love how a dropped catch brings about the loudest shouts at a cricket match

[@ianb9729]

After the whole series, five Tests of five days, we went in to the last day still not knowing who had won. Best of all, the series was decided by a game in which there was no result. That takes some explaining to a non-cricket fan :)

[@pras25]

non cricket fans can never understand the beauty of a test series, as an Indian fan, it was simply the most enthralling test series in recent memory.

[@Takatakaue]

I was there that day .. still gives me goosebumps everytime I see it ..

[@Dellard32]

"It's baseball!" "It's 4, that all that matters"

[@saeedahmed239]

Excellent Umpiring, best cricket teams, world best bowling attack ,fantastic batting shots played by KP ....such a great match ,every angle is completely perfect.. Awesome.

[@nrikoothara]

The speciality of this innings is that u don’t get tired of watching it again and again no matter how many times you have watched it before ☺️

[@Stokie09123]

Vaughan said to him before this innings to just go out and play his game irrespective of the game situation. Fantastic bit of simple, yet effective captaincy.

[@fungboy3]

Vaughan and Duncan Fletcher were the only ones who knew how to get the best out of the KP... the regime and captaincy that followed was pathetic. Dare I say there are still a few knobs in the ECB who were actually jealous that KP got fast tracked and achieve better test cricket success than they did

[@Airyed]

@@fungboy3 a lot of the players were jealous of the fact he was in the ipl

[@fungboy3]

@@Airyed no doubt that added further envy being the only player to be picked. Guess what the ECB are trying to do cashing on T20 and 100 ball cricket to make the money and neglect building a test team.

[@vinodsrinivasan9077]

@@fungboy3 ECB were clever to use him. They know that they need X Factor player like KP in India to win the away series. That's the reason reintegration was done quickly. But that 186 in rank square turner was one hell of the innings. Completely turned that series upside down resulted in series win for England.

[@stevetici2668]

What a fantastic innings from Kp. I remember watching this as a 11 year old, smashing us around the park. I admired the bloke the whole way through. What a huge shame he was dropped..

[@Bodderz71]

Summer of 2005, what an ashes series that was full of memories, quality cricket all around. This was the birth of KP what an amazing player. Can't believe it's been 14 years already!

[@karenday6711]

I've got goose bumps from watching this, he must come back for this year's Ashes!

[@Imrankniazi]

You had everything in this series. One of the finest fast bowling spells I witnessed from Glenn McGrath in Lord's. Taking 5 wickets and more importantly clean bowling top-order English bastmen as if they were club level cricketers. Even by McGrath's lofty standards, that was a special spell! Freddie at Edgsbaston and Jones at Manchester were outstanding with the ball. I'm not a huge fan of Freddie's batting , but he played some superb knocks too. And to top it off, this great knock from KP!

[@chrisw5738]

the greatest innings by an englishman. Ever.

[@velvlol]

One of the greatest ever innings!

[@gggfx4144]

I like these innings where Pietersen was just focused on the job; no chat, no drama, no controversy, just sticking in a zen-like state and scoring runs. Yes there were chances early on but Warne, McGrath and Lee were phenoms, you don't play them without having touch of luck. Very enjoyable to watch

[@abchubcommercehub6450]

He was one of the greatest all time...

[@fungboy3]

Its a shame that people don't remember more of the innings KP played that took apart a lot of bowling attacks. 3 double centuries and 4 other scores over 150 plus -- not many England batsman have that record

[@tFGaming]

8:14 KP says "fucking good ball, that". Great innings, I love KP!

[@umerk44]

The way he is pulling lee I've never seen any batsman to pull him like this and that straight hit to lee. Super stuff.

[@geekyarenas4005]

Uthapa

[@rudrankpatel9020]

@@geekyarenas4005 one day cricket can't be compared to test cricket

[@vinodsrinivasan9077]

He did to Shoaib Akhtar too in Pakistan. Very less players can do that. He was at 94 and completed 100 with that ferocious pull. After that Akhtar got him out..

[@789silentwarrior]

one of the greatest and important ASHES innings

[@rupeshtiwari7395]

My favorite player Sir KP...👦 Great player of the world...

[@davesmith2194]

Best innings I ever watched. First day of watching cricket, become a fan for life.

[@someshmaji5641]

Only one word out of my mouth "OUTSTANDING "innings played by KP❤

[@sabyasachimukhopadhyay1256]

Initially struggled but what a come back by Pieterson! Great maiden century!

[@ashleywintle8570]

4:27 shot of the innings, glorious shot

[@davesmith2194]

The innings that got me into cricket. I was 5 sat with my uncle.

[@stevendavies417]

One of the greatest innings of all time. You could see the respect McGrath and Warne had for KP when he was finally removed.

[@jacobburtonswfc]

McGrath is a nasty person

[@MrIBTASAM]

8:14 KP - after getting bowled "VERY GOOD BALL. THAT!"

[@nrikoothara]

Fucking good ball that - that’s what he said

[@rightway8559]

KP's first test hundred in the last test of ashes series 2005, that innings help England to drawn the match & won the series

[@TheIkaraCult]

I dont follow cricket but i remember how enthralled we all were by this Ashes series, and Pieterson was the catalyst for it. He was flipping amazing

[@mitchb61]

I miss fat Shane Warne

[@AISHridoyAftab]

legend😎😎😎😎

[@AsifKhan-pw2py]

What a batsman, I love the way he plays

[@IamArkaBanerjee]

one batsman who has everything to be a great player..technique,courage,aggression,skill,nerves of steel. his only problem is that he gets carried away sometimes..still for me..KING KEVIN RULES

[@mylesajkay5336]

Ahhhhhh, the calm soothing voice of Richie Benaud in d commentary... He will be greatly missed. KP is one hell of a player... Wat a great batsman...

[@sonny199]

Myles AJ Kay May he rest in power, I miss his commentary a lot

[@mylesajkay5336]

@@sonny199 True...

[@pix046]

AW Grieg (RIP) as commentator must have loved this. A South African born Englishman - like himself - doing great things for England.

[@shabbirsk8647]

One of the best attacking player and also my favorite player

[@truepatriotproudhindu3690]

Nobody can hit pull against bret lee 155 kmh kp is really superstar batsman

[@Abdulaziz-nv9fd]

Such an unfortunate ending to an amazing fairytale, I'm crying right now😭😭. He was a class of his own, if only he was playing to this day, Kohli would be no match for his superiority 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@himanshumirdha2408]

😥

[@samratchattopadhyay332]

That's too much

[@nitin8063]

Kohli' s technique is betr than kp

[@ronS990]

8:25 that's why it is called Gentleman's game..

[@shaileshkumar104]

One of the most courageous innings. Fearless,

[@107ii]

As an Australian this was still the best Ashes ever! 2013 could be even better!

[@sandeeppalla004]

The best English Batsman ever ! What a loss to the game .ECB Wake up !!!!

[@TheHueghst0n]

YES!!! They need him back for the India tests!!!!

[@jasoncooper1189]

Sandeep Palla i agree mate bought his book today

[@asoutar4426]

Shalya Madra yeh I'm pretty sure he does tbh

[@thejudge-kv2jk]

Best English batman ever? Do me a favour. Part time cricket fan.

[@aranyaism]

Easily the best English batsman ever. Who’s better. Don’t tell me jack Hobbs and WG grace. They played against 120 kph bowlers maximum in a shit time.

[@Premparkash24861]

Great player of England Kevin.much respect

[@waqarmalik9115]

The Greatest series of All time Wish those days would come back

[@kanwalgill3853]

Waqar Malik yes bro! when cricket revived itself! loved the series! back then and now

[@Wally-H]

Maybe they just have

[@sudhanshumitra1989]

This has to be one of the greatest test innings played in 21st century....alongwith his 186 at Wankhede Mumbai 2012...KP the greatest game has ever seen...

[@santhoshkansoor]

I never forget this series in my life

[@sujoyda9518]

I am a big fan of kp and lee .. From India

[@rebusubervideo]

8:25 is the reason Shane Warne has my respect. They lost but HE was tall.

[@gatishjena1833]

The greatest player for England in all format..take a bow

[@vinodsrinivasan9077]

+Roger Best Ever as far as playing under severe pressure is concerned. I rate higher than Sir Viv as far as series turning innings and playing under pressure is concerned.

[@ryanwebb5082]

Hang on, I dunno about that.

[@alexandertkeith3541]

He's our leading run scorer across all 3 formats... won 4 Ashes, got to no. 1 in the world, and was man of the tournament in England's only ever world cup victory - who has a better claim than him?

[@ryanwebb5082]

Al Keith - Botham.

[@alexandertkeith3541]

fair shout

[@fireplasies5647]

Always loved his batting, brilliant KP

[@lavarball61]

3:04 Vaughan: bet u £50 u cant limbo under the wickets KP: hold my beer...

[@ajays.sandhu2069]

Most entertaining batsman England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 has produced ever and the real game changer

[@sahashranshubarik9204]

This innings is the epitome of classic Test Cricket Innings in the history of Test Cricket.

[@chantingcharvaka1760]

East or west England is the best

[@sahashranshubarik9204]

​@@chantingcharvaka1760, lol, yeah in killing and looting wealth.😂😂😂

[@ravisolanki8426]

6:48 is pure gold for CRICKET fans ... Great flited ball by great leg spiner amazingly hammerd by 1 true genius & after all credit goes to MARK NICHOLAS who has magical voice ......PURE GOLD I repeat PURE GOLD......

[@mattinterweb]

Warne was classy at the end of that innings. Especially after his dropped catch. I was there and the Oval sang his name in respect towards the end. Unheard of.

[@louislabuschagne9522]

KP is the best South African to have ever played for England

[@alexwant4664]

He's just as much as English as South African mate that's all that matters

[@Wally-H]

Yup, even better than Tony Greig

[@mattinterweb]

English mother so that must make him at least 50% English .

[@jaggedagger]

basil d’oliveira?

[@ayushkanyal3163]

Would you like to count kolpak players betraying their countey to pkay in an englisb county system

[@boxingjerapah]

Watched every shot from a bar in Jakarta ... what a knock it was. The drop by Warne was incredible.

[@junaidansari7271]

one of the complete batsmen of all time, barve, positive and entertaining, modern Great KP!

[@moggoon]

His first and last centuries for England were spectacular and the stuff in between was fantastic too; it is such a shame that in all likelihood we won't be able see another.

[@nanometer500]

great innings by him and great umpiring by the umpires too!! :)

[@sonupandey1876]

My Favorite player all time great great KP

[@Andrew-is7rs]

Not many like him come along often. The vivs and Kevs of this world who could do it all. Luckily we have Buttler now. A truly FABULOUS player. Thanks Kev 👍

[@telikanatik5799]

I don't know how many times I have rewinded 0:26.... That was a 🔥 delivery.... #LongLiveMcgrath

[@prathappalavelli4695]

Only a few in after 2003 in England team are good... KP is the icon for others ... Legend of England cricket

[@kalpeshispatil]

Boss, that years Ashes was more thrilling than today's T20 WC.. Whole world was excited to follow the scores.. saw , Aussies in pressure after many years...

[@pras25]

4:27 that's a fabulous shot off Lee

[@philipmcritchie7309]

Must have watched this 10 times

[@MyKarve]

One of The Best Test Series Ever

[@venkateshguru3395]

As young KP hits aus Masters...

[@floyd7835]

Though the innings was not flawless,but KP ... Oh my god one hell of a batsman he was....one of the most underrated... What he could have been achieved, if not for that unfortunate retirement.... Just think👏👏

[@atiksunny2725]

Never seen such an imperious inning with sheer dominance by any English Bateman

[@millions511]

To me the greatest innings in the history of cricket. Dropped catches what do you mean the rest of the 158 was no piece of cake.Making Warne and McGrath like school kids is no kidding.

[@FarhanAli-lo7ns]

The great player and my frvt batsman of all time but so sad for his end of cricket

[@adamappleton4631]

I was 13 when this incredible series was played, and to this date this is my favourite innings. I love it's nuance and imperfection and the context it was played within. Imagine KP under the current Stokes/McCullum regime. The guy was ahead of his time.

[@Vickysagittarius]

To play against fast bowlers like tait & lee who consistently bowling at 155km/hr is not everyone cup of tea hats off to kevin peterson u are a legend

[@KishoreRanny]

After This Innings Im Addicted To Him..

[@jaspalsinghsandhu2928]

Who wathcing in 2019 like this

[@dunxxx123]

That was the best bowling attack in the world. Warne, Lee and McGrath had made batsmen all over the world look ordinary. Amazing innings by KP, as an Aussie fan I'm truly upset that he isn't playing any more.

[@jaw3715]

The aussie bowlers: McGrath, Lee, Tait and Warne were fearsome, then batting with Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Martyn, Clarke, Gilchrist...wow. For me, getting 158 when ur down against that team was his best innings ever.

[@MyKarve]

Excellent Stories, Each Player gives 100%

[@dralexkoefman]

That extraordinary event when a brilliantly skilled body combines with a brilliantly skilled mind. He was the complete package.

[@chamalfon]

watching this in 2016!

[@thegulagarchipelago5921]

On his day he was truly a Beast!!