Kevin Peterson - England

Kevin Pietersen born as Kevin Peter Pietersen on June 27th, 1980 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa is a spectacular English cricketer. He is an aggressive attacking batsman, who holds the distinction of being the fastest to reach both 1000 and 2000 runs in One-day games. His rapid rise to third place in the ICC rankings is proof enough of his incredible batting talents.

Born of a South African father and an English mother, Kevin Pietersen grew up playing cricket while attending college in his hometown Natal's B team, until he was sidelined and dropped on grounds of racial system. Frustrated at being victimized on racial grounds, Kevin Pietersen shifted to England.

Soon he demonstrated his cricketing talents in England while playing for Birmingham Cricket League, and Nottinghamshire and Hampshire. Finally he made his ODI debut on November 28th, 2004 against Zimbabwe at Harare and made his Test debut against Australia at Lord's on July 21st, 2005.

His 2005 trip to South Africa with the English touring side has all the traits of a movie-thriller. When Pietersen came to bat, the South African crowd heckled and booed him down calling him traitor... traitor… trying to rob his concentration. Undaunted by the hostile reception, Kevin Pietersen suitably reciprocated the reception with his bat scoring 454 runs in just five innings and turned the hostility of the home crowd into that of an endearing love for him. The South African crowd ultimately gave a standing ovation when he made his final century.

So far this wonderful batting prodigy scored more than 2800 runs in Tests and 2300 runs in ODI. He has scored 10 Test centuries and 5 One-day centuries.