Kevin Pietersen's 2005 Ashes
When England's selectors chose Kevin Pietersen to be in the Ashes squad, they were taking a big gamble considering he had never played a test before and preferring him to the tried and tested experienced campaigner Graham Thorpe.
However, Kevin Pietersen welcomed the challenge with open arms scoring 57 in the first innings against Australia and 64 not out in the second, making him only the 4th person in history to top score in both innings on an English debut.
He then followed this up with 71 in the first innings of the second test, providing him with 3 half centuries in his first 3 test innings.
Nevertheless, some critics still expressed doubts highlighting his dropped catches in the field. Pietersen's critics were spectacularly proved wrong in the fifth test.
In a nail-biting finish to the Ashes series when Kevin Pietersen came to the crease in the second innings of the fifth test, England were struggling.
Pietersen turned the game and the series magnificently. He hit an incredible 158 runs off 187 balls. Eventually, after batting for almost 5 hours, Pietersen was bowled out by McGrath leaving England 308-8 but it was already too late for Australia, Pietersen had, in effect, won the match for England.
He also hit 7 sixes in this innings breaking Ian Botham's record for Ashes tests set back in 1981 when he hit 6 sixes at Old Trafford.
Kevin Pietersen's Ashes - analysis by Ben Rosenbaum
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