England Cricket / Ralph Ellis / 16 June 2008 /

KP's huge reverse blows at the Riverside yesterday could become as patented as football's "Cruyff turn." But not if the traditionalists have their way... Ralph Ellis investigates.

There are just a few special moments in history when somebody redefines a sport. When the great Johan Cruyff first threw his body one way and somehow shuffled his feet and the ball the other it stopped the world. The Cruyff turn was born. Back then in the seventies it was the height of invention and dazzling technique. Now you can see pub players trying the trick on a park on most Sunday mornings.

So what effect will Kevin Pietersen's two amazing left-hand sixes have on the game of cricket after yesterday's spectacular unbeaten 110 that routed New Zealand in the first One Day international? The purists hated it when Ian Botham and Viv Richards first developed the reverse sweep, each trying to outdo one another for daring at the crease. But this took it a whole deal further. The KP turn, maybe?

In the short term it made Pietersen an instant [1.61] favourite to be England's top scorer for the series, and even at those short odds that looks a very safe way to make some money. The point about Pietersen is that he can give his wicket away cheaply if he goes to the crease planning to have a slog, but when he chooses to bat properly, as he did in the early stages of his innings yesterday, he sticks and then brings on the flambouyant stuff once he's seeing the ball as clearly as Cruyff once saw a football! And the incentive of chasing serious money from the Twenty20 series to come in the West Indies at the end of the season has clearly inspired the South African (oops, sorry, Englishman) to prove beyond doubt that he belongs in any England team.

Pietersen's two huge blows at the Riverside were astonishing to watch. The first sent the ball soaring over cover (or midwicket after Pietersen switched sides), and the second was even more amazing as a lofted drive which cleared the boundary at long-off (or long-on, depending on your point of view). Yet amazingly not everybody stood back in admiration, and the Daily Mail picked up the debate about the shots and put it on the back page.

Former West Indies pace bowler Michael Holding insisted: 'Bowlers have to tell the batsman if they are bowling right or left-handed, and whether they will be coming over or round the wicket. Why shouldn't a batsman have to say which way round he will be making his stance?' And John Etheridge in The Sun revealed that the ICC will be making a ruling on whether changing a stance should continue to be legal.

Pietersen says they are both talking nonsense, and so do I. Any batsman trying to copy the KP turn is taking a huge risk and any half decent bowler should be thrilled to bits to see the batsman try it. It should just increase the chance of getting him out. And as Pietersen himself says: 'It's ridiculous to suggest anything other than that the shot is ok. Everyone wants new ideas and inventions and that's a new shot.'

With Paul Collingwood back in the runs England are now [1.21] to win the series, and are well worth backing at [2.72] to beat the South Africans in the Test series too. I wonder who will be next to try the KP turn?

Five things you didn't know about the Cruyff turn

1. First performed by Johan Cruyff against Sweden in the 1974 World Cup

2. The hapless defender who was left looking a mug was Gunnar Olson

3. The Cruyff Turn is the name of a Ukrainian band. But watching the clip of the great Dutchman on U-tube is much better entertainment than listening to their music!

4. Scientists have worked out it is 11 per cent harder to stay on your feet while executing the trick wearing moulded boots compared to traditional studs!

5. The trick didn't actually produce a goal. The game finished 0-0 but Holland went on to reach the final where they lost 2-1 to Germany.

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