Pietersen best batsman, Tendulkar doesn't get a vote!

Melbourne, July 5 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar failed to get a
single vote as Cricket Australia's contracted players chose
Englishman Kevin Pietersen as the best batsman in the world
outside their country.

Tendulkar may have been a thorn in Australia's flesh for
18 long years and possess virtually every other batting record
but the current 25 CA-contracted players did not deem him
worth of even a single vote.

Instead, they picked former England captain Pietersen as
the current batsman they feared most, giving him 50 per cent
votes in a survey conducted this year, according to 'The Age'.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who has scored 503
runs from six matches at an average of 41.91 against the
Australians, was the surprise second best batsman with 34 per
cent votes.

In comparison, Tendulkar has scored 2748 runs from 29
matches at an average of 56.08 against the Australians.

Pietersen, on the other hand, has made 963 runs from 10
matches at 53.50 average against Australia, but the
29-year-old's attitude has attracted just as much admiration
as his record.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith and teammate Jacques
Kallis got seven per cent of votes apiece.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting paid glowing tribute to
Pietersen and said, "He's the sort of player that is always
taking the game forward. I'm not sure of his strike rate in
Test cricket (63.35) but generally when he makes runs he gets
them at a pretty good speed.

"I think Pietersen is their classiest player. He's
aggressive, he takes the game on, and those sort of players,
when they start to get going, they can bring a few more of
their teammates along with them," he added.

For Brett Lee too, Pietersen is one of the hardest
batsmen in the world to bowl to when he is on song.

"I don't care what anyone says - I've bowled against him
when he's playing well and he picks the ball very, very early,
he hangs late back in his crease and gives himself that extra
time. He plays all the shots and he's an aggressive person.

"Whether that's the South African nature in him; Kevin
Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are the two players who are most
like Aussie players, the way they've got that controlled
aggression, the way they don't want to let an opponent, I
suppose, scare them or overpower them. When you've got that
with a player with his talent, it's a pretty handy mix," Lee
said.

Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, however, feels the pressure
on England's star batsman might make him vulnerable.

"I still think Ricky Ponting is the best batsman in the
world. (But) Pietersen has got so much talent, he can hit your
good balls for four or even six," he said. PTI PDS