Kevin Pietersen career timeline
ESPNcricinfo charts the career of Kevin Pietersen
ESPNcricinfo staff
01-Jul-2009
Kevin Pietersen was one of the greatest players to play for England • Getty Images
June 27, 1980
Born, Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa
Born, Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa
1999
December - Scores 61 not out for Natal v England XI (batting nine), takes 4 for 141 (including Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan). Plays club cricket in Birmingham league for Cannock.
December - Scores 61 not out for Natal v England XI (batting nine), takes 4 for 141 (including Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan). Plays club cricket in Birmingham league for Cannock.
2000
Trials for Warwickshire
Trials for Warwickshire
2001
Disenchanted by South Africa, Clive Rice persuades him to join Nottinghamshire and he scores 1275 runs in first season. Cracks four hundreds in one week for Notts in August, including 254 not-out against Middlesex.
Disenchanted by South Africa, Clive Rice persuades him to join Nottinghamshire and he scores 1275 runs in first season. Cracks four hundreds in one week for Notts in August, including 254 not-out against Middlesex.
2003
Scores 1546 runs in first-class cricket but falls out with Jason Gallian and expresses his desire to leave the club.
Scores 1546 runs in first-class cricket but falls out with Jason Gallian and expresses his desire to leave the club.
2003-04
Tours India with England A. Only batsman to emerge from the tour with credit, with 147 not out, 31, 114, 115, 32 and 94 from six innings at over 100. Also scores 131 against India A in one-day match.
Tours India with England A. Only batsman to emerge from the tour with credit, with 147 not out, 31, 114, 115, 32 and 94 from six innings at over 100. Also scores 131 against India A in one-day match.
2004
Joins Hampshire, becomes eligible for England.
Joins Hampshire, becomes eligible for England.
2004/05
Tours Zimbabwe and South Africa with England's one-day side and dominates proceedings with scores of 97 (in a warm-up), 108, 75, 100 (69 balls) and 116 - 454 runs with crowds baying for his blood. England still lose 4-1, but the crowds begin to warm to him.
Tours Zimbabwe and South Africa with England's one-day side and dominates proceedings with scores of 97 (in a warm-up), 108, 75, 100 (69 balls) and 116 - 454 runs with crowds baying for his blood. England still lose 4-1, but the crowds begin to warm to him.
2005
May - Omitted from the Test squad for series with Bangladesh
May - Omitted from the Test squad for series with Bangladesh
June 19 - Scores sensational 91 not-out against Australia at Bristol to guide England to victory and increase media demand for Test call-up.
July - Picked for Test team at expense of Graham Thorpe. Scores 57 and 64 on debut as England lose at Lord's. Fourth England player to top-score in both innings on debut.
September - Dropped twice before he reaches double figures but goes on to score a breathtakingly bold 158 in the 5th Test at the Oval to help England reclaim the Ashes. Named Man-of-the-Match and is highest run-scorer in series with 473 at 52.55.
October - Named ICC One-Day player of the year and the ICC Emerging Player of the year in 2005 and represents ICC World XI against Australia.
November - Scores second Test century in second Test against Pakistan in Faisalabad.
2006
March - Passes 1000 ODI runs while hitting 71 against India at Faridabad . Equals Viv Richards' record of 21 innings to reach landmark.
March - Passes 1000 ODI runs while hitting 71 against India at Faridabad . Equals Viv Richards' record of 21 innings to reach landmark.
May - Scores 158 and 142 in first two Test's of summer against Sri Lanka to become first man since Graham Gooch in 1990 to score hundreds in three consecutive innings on home soil. Enters top ten in world rankings.
June - Announces engagement to Jessica Taylor, the Liberty X singer.
August - Scores 135 in 3rd Test against Pakistan.
2007
January - Part of England's side whitewashed in Australia but emerges with credit after 158 in Adelaide
January - Part of England's side whitewashed in Australia but emerges with credit after 158 in Adelaide
March - Powerless to prevent England failing to make the World Cup semi-finals but top scores with 444 runs at 55.50, including two centuries, against Australia and West Indies
May - Raises his game to a new level. Makes first Test double century against West Indies at Headingley, one of four hundreds in the summer - two each against West Indies and India, including a memorable 134 at Lord's out of England's 282.
2008
July - Reaches a personal landmark with a hundred against his native South Africa, at Lord's, with a patriotic English crowd keenly aware of the moment. Declares never to have been "so loved".
July - Reaches a personal landmark with a hundred against his native South Africa, at Lord's, with a patriotic English crowd keenly aware of the moment. Declares never to have been "so loved".
August - Named England captain to replace Michael Vaughan and marshals victory in the final Test of the summer
November - Leads England to ODI and Test series defeats in India but makes century in the ODI in Cuttack and Test in Mohali
2009
January - Resigns as England captain after a rift with the coach, Peter Moores, who is also sacked, but Pietersen responds to the new captain, Andrew Strauss, with 97 against West Indies
January - Resigns as England captain after a rift with the coach, Peter Moores, who is also sacked, but Pietersen responds to the new captain, Andrew Strauss, with 97 against West Indies
April - Signs the most expensive IPL contract, US$1.55 million, and represents Bangalore Royal Challengers
July - Limps out of the Ashes needing surgery on an Achilles tendon
November - Returns to England line up for South Africa tour but endures a lean time with only one half-century in the four Tests
2010
May - Delivers Man of the Tournament performance to lead England to their first global trophy with victory in the World T20 in the Caribbean
May - Delivers Man of the Tournament performance to lead England to their first global trophy with victory in the World T20 in the Caribbean
December - Makes highest Test score of 227 in Adelaide to help England go 1-0 up in the Ashes; the first step on the road to a 2-1 victory, England's first in Australia for 24 years
2011
March - Flies home from the World Cup in India with a hernia. England struggle to get out of the group stage and are hammered in the quarter-final
March - Flies home from the World Cup in India with a hernia. England struggle to get out of the group stage and are hammered in the quarter-final
July - Plays his best Test innings in England: a double century against India at Lord's. Follows with 175 at The Oval as England complete a 4-0 whitewash to move to No. 1 in the world Test rankings
2012
January - Like the rest of the England batsman, flummoxed by spin in the UAE as Pakistan whitewash England 3-0. Responds with two centuries in the one-day series in his new role as opener
January - Like the rest of the England batsman, flummoxed by spin in the UAE as Pakistan whitewash England 3-0. Responds with two centuries in the one-day series in his new role as opener
March - Proves he can play spin in Asian conditions with a majestic 151 in 165 balls as England square the Test series in Colombo
May - In a row over availability for the IPL, Pietersen retires from one-day international cricket, also ruling himself out of playing T20 for England
August - Blazes 149 against South Africa at Headingley but follows the innings by saying "it's not easy being me" in a press conference. Subsequently, it is revealed Pietersen sent text messages criticising captain Andrew Strauss to the South Africans. He is dropped for the final Test and cast into the wilderness. A youtube video follows where Pietersen U-turns and declares himself available for England across all formats.
October - Not selected for England's World T20 campaign where they fail to make the semi-finals
November - Successfully "reintegrated" into the England dressing room and responds with one of the greatest Test innings: 186 in Mumbai on a turning wicket with England one down in the series and staring into the abyss. Makes two half-centuries in the remaining Tests as England take a famous 2-1 victory
2013
August - Scores a gritty century at Old Trafford as England retain the Ashes 3-0
August - Scores a gritty century at Old Trafford as England retain the Ashes 3-0
December - Swings wildly across the line to be bowled for 71 in Melbourne, Pietersen's only half-century of a wretched series where England surrender the Urn 5-0 and Pietersen is criticised for his style of play
2014
January - After talks with Paul Downton, England cricket's managing director, a line is drawn under his international career due a desire to "start the rebuilding process".
January - After talks with Paul Downton, England cricket's managing director, a line is drawn under his international career due a desire to "start the rebuilding process".