England's poster boy

There are very few characters in cricket that command the kind of attention Kevin Pietersen does. His first tryst with the headlines took place when he decided he would play for England (eligible thanks to an English mother) and not South Africa (his country by birth). And thankfully for him, he had to talent to match. In just his second tour for England, he was playing in South Africa in front of hostile crowds, but he managed a hard-hitting 100 to announce his arrival on the big stage.

In an English team that is guilty of undervaluing one-day international cricket, Pietersen, along with Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood, is the only naturally aggressive player who can succeed in ODIs. An unfortunate (and somewhat freak) injury in Australia cut short his tour of Australia, but he is a certainty to make the World Cup squad. And he can only further strengthen a resurgent England team.

KP, as he is referred to, bats like his life depends on it and has made the middle-order spot at No. 4 or 5 his own. Statistically, he has had more success at number 5, but he is flexible enough to come in and bat wherever required. His fielding, though, leaves a lot to be desired. The biggest testimony to this fact is the six dropped catches in the Ashes 2005 series!

With three ODI hundreds already under his belt to go with 11 half-centuries, KP is a force to reckon with. Opposition bowlers will need to watch the short ball and spinners, just about everything. Remember him reverse-sweeping Muttiah Muralitharan for six in a Test match? That's the talent the man has.

At just 26, KP has a long way ahead of him and is one of the central players for England in both forms of the game. His ODI average of 56.50 is among the top in the world at the moment. Destructive from the word go, if he can regain his form after injury, he will be one of three players England will depend on as they try for that elusive World Cup title.

His expansive style of batting, extravagant sense of style and somewhat careless attitude with the press make him a favourite of the cricket fans around the world.

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