Well how much do you know about Peter Fulton? As if you'd expect Pieterson to know about Johnson - most Australian cricket fans hadn't heard of him until a year ago. So what if he toured England - Pieterson is South African and would have no idea. The beauty of Pieterson is that he doesn't play blokes from a webpage or tv screen - he plays what they bowl at him. That's why he has no hesitation in hoicking a Shane Warne leg break for six when others would treat it as a hand grenade. Pointless topic.

I'm not unduly worried that KP hadn't heard of Mitchell Johnson. Come the Ashes, there are three established bowlers - Lee, McGrath and Warne - that he'll be up against, and they're the ones he should be studying. With just one other slot up for grabs between half a dozen strong contenders, Johnson is still a fair way down the pecking order, so he's likely to be the least of KP's worries.

By the same token, I doubt the Australians are busily swotting up on the likes of Broad,
Onions and Smith. There's a chance they might have to play against them over the winter, but their time will be far better spent working out Hoggard, Harmison, Flintoff and Panesar.

Dear Tim

Knowing Google or Cricinfo are not the pre-requiste of being a great player. KP may need not to know any player but certainly should know where his footwork goes when he come across slow and slippary wickets of India where is a failure and so is England.

KP and Flintoff reminds me of Sachin of 90s where his success/failure was directly proportional to his team's performance.

Thank You

Jatta Ashish

I too was suprised to read Pietersens' comments - I have previously read how he likes to get DVDs of bowlers he hasn't faced before especially a front-on view to get an idea of their action, style and point of delivery so this was strange to hear especially given how easy it is to obtain information using the net

As per my view it is important to know what is your weakness than strength and one should try to overcome it. Once if he gets full confidence then only the thought of attacking the opposition should come in.

If once this attacking things will come to your mind you'll surely thinking on opposition strengths & weakness. This will surely give you the upperhand than others & will have a major role in the success.

I always support a player like kp, sachin, ponting, gilchrist, inzimam & lara who are with natural abilities.

KP has a lot of things going for him, and one of them is his attitude. Even if he knew about Johnson, why would he admit that Johnson is so much on his mind that he has to learn everything about him? Surely, that is letting Johnson know that KP is worrying about him.

As far as getting out to the left arm bowler is concerned, it is still only round 1. I would be surprised if Johnson comes out ahead of KP after a few more encounters. My money's surely on KP

interesting point. surely KP's reckless bravado was his undoing this time round. it was an old trick he fell for...but lets hope he fairs better come november!

KP is a great batsman. He's fearless against any bowler and raring to go. Not much should be said about such small things. Come Ashes, he is surely gonna play valuable innings and thrash aussie bowlers all over the ground be it Mcgrath, Lee or Warne. However it was heartbreaking to see him getting dismissed like that against the aussies.

Fully agree with your comments Tim. I was surprised too by KP's comments, although it's possible he just playing mind games or just being his usual arrogant self.

I hope Mitchell gets a run at Brisbane. I'm sure KP would've done his homework by then. If not he's gonna look pretty silly.

Of Course KP knows about Google. He uses it to check out his own website and comments that others are making about him. After all In a recent interview he often referred to himself in the third person. After all he has played 18 tests is 26 and has an autobiography.

Tim:

I am surprised to read a blog like this from you. Not all international cricketers are spending their afternoon reading Cricinfo mate. Actually I am proud of KP for not knowing about MJ. Can you think of Sachin worrying about every new bowler he came across in his lifetime?

Just because we fans have Cricinfo as our only media source and you have a job at Cricinfo, doesn’t mean every player should read this bible before the war.

I feel that Peitersen has an ego which can be both a strength and a weakness. Planting your front foot and flicking balls to midwicket all day might be ok against 6 foot Sri Lankan medium pacers but sometimes you have to show respect.

If Johnson nails his game he can be more troubling than Lee. Lee is faster but doesn't get bounce and is and easy to get used to. Because of his shoulder strong action Johnson surprises batsmen with his speed off the pitch, can get it to rear up or skid onto batsmen and can get swing. Like Hayden in 2005 Flintoff and KP could be battling their own egos and need to dominate just as much as the bowling.

Sri has a point - KP may not have wanted Johnson to know that he knows about him.

But I do agree with Tim. Cricket's not just a game where you go out and play at whoever's bowling/batting to you on whatever wicket's out there. You have to KNOW your opponent, it's not enough to know that Johnson's just a fast bowler. What are his weaknesses? how can I attack him? When can I pull for a four? You can't really wing it during a match.

And especially as the Ashes are coming up, surely an English player (just because he's from South Africa doesn't mean he shouldn't do his homework) should learn as much about their Aussie opponents as possible.

I doubt the Aussies are not looking at the English backup attack, to be honest, and when a new boy with Johnson's reputation and recent form appears, having not heard of him is plain stupid. So I think KP is playing mind games with the youngster. Hopefully Johnson's not stupid enough to forget KP smashing Lee into the grandstands at 95 mph to secure the Ashes. It will make for an interesting duel, Johnson has enough talent and the right attitude (finally) to cope with the big stage, and while he got KP out like some tame bunny, I think he can also get rid of him in a duel of aggressive cricket as well. It goes without saying that KP can hit anyone out of the attack on his day, but he hits himself out just as frequently.

The interesting thing about his dismisal to Johnson was he was very much on the defensive, and looked unprepared for both the pearlers he got. Can't remember that happening before.

I read some stupid comments of Barmy Army supporters, who think that a batsman should just go there and play the ball not the bowler. But if they know that it is a basic of cricket, that any batsman can gain a better ability to play again a paticular bowler, if he knows his deliveries well.

As usual KP is trying show his attitude and arrogance. He has overated himself so high that it will be his eventual downfall. I always suspect players who are trying to write his auto biography before playing at least 25 tests.

And who is Onions and Smith, they are just ordinary bowlers, who has just come into the field in the absence of jones, Harmison, and Giles. They cannot match the talens of Johnson who is consistent and has already caused many problems to batsmen

I would like to comment both on the original topic and i would also like to respond to some of the posts i have seen. As far as KP not knowing who Johnson is, it's quite disappointing. You need to know what you're up against and you need to be a master in the art of anticipation, that's the way you maintain your claims as one of the best. I think his lack of knowledge shows in the numbers. His average has been on a steady decline in the ODIs, and everytime he's been up against some new talent, or some returning talent, he's been exploited. Main examples in the past two series are Mohammad Asif and Johnson. Asif, if i recall correctly, got Pietersen out for naught three times. It's in the 2-4 range for sure. And now Johnson, in his first shot against Pietersen, got him pretty early. This is something the English management might want to look at because the last spot in the Ashes fast bowling line will be taken by either Johnson, Tait, or possibly Gillespie. I believe Tait and Gillespie both bowled in the last ashes, but im not sure how much exposure KP had with those two, and if he didnt have a lot of exposure to tait, and if Tait is fit for the Ashes and bowling well, he too will pose a similar problem.

The problem with him not knowing alot even with all the technology is that his opposition knows where to bowl, but he doesn't know where to hit. And in the end, he's just swinging his bat like an Afridi or a Dhoni, a slogger, and every slogger looses their touch. Afridi hasn't been performing in the last 18ish months, Dhoni's runs aren't coming aplenty, he's had to change his game, and the same will have to be done with KP if he wants to stay at the top. He's negotiated the likes of Murali and Warne because he has no fear for them, that's good, but he can't be ignorant of the rising talent around the world, as he is one of them and his main weapon, earlier in his career, was that not many knew how well he could hit. People are learning, so should he.

Don't you think this just might have been a little banter on KP's part? The Aussies go in for all that hype and I think KP's of the same mould isn't he?

I like the way most of you journalists try to say "oh he's not scoring runs or not doing his homework because he's busy promoting products or endorsements" - get real Tim. Really. There a bazillion other reasons which are usually more the case than because a player endorses products or promotes something. Don't tout that as a reason and try to stoke populist opinion amongst innocent cricket followers whose understanding of cricket doesn't go beyond the rudimentary.

Spot on. KP isnt known for his professionalism, but then again, nor is Shane Warne. Plenty of cricketers these days a skeptical of computers, but to simply say he hadnt heard of him, is sheer recklessness on his behalf.

What i find more appauling is that Fletcher obviously hasnt prepped any of the players about johnson, the kid got sachin and lara out in the last tournament, and he hasnt said anything about them, no videos? no left armers at practice?
KP smashing us in ashes, well, we'll see how he goes on a decent sized ground, not the pool tables in england. Getting out to a player is never a good way to start mind games, so please dont say he was only foxing with him. He had him in trouble, no doubt about that. KP has a weakness against the short ball. Its not a fear thing, its a judgement thing. He hits them well at times, but at other times he tries to play is when it is simply not on and gets himself into trouble. He didnt smash sixes with the pull in the ashes, he top-edged them on small grounds. In australia he will be caught at fine leg.

The aussies wont be looking at englands back up attack no, but they will be looking at every player in that squad, i guarantee that, buchanan is too much of a geek not too.

Lastly, i see some people commenting that aussies hadnt heard of him til a year ago. Well, thats seriously, just crap. He has been a very consistent performer for QLD in the past 3 seasons since recovering from back problems, and any aussie fan that is relatively knowledgable knows about him.

The aussies underestimated the English team last time around. Dont expect a repeat, please, and dont underestimate the aussies.