(Reuters) – England batsman Kevin Pietersen believes his self-confidence is often perceived as arrogance but says he can live with that public image.
The 33-year-old batsman, who left his native South Africa to pursue cricket in England, will be playing his 100th test match at the Brisbane Ashes opener starting tomorrow.
Pietersen’s brash public persona alienates many fans in his adopted country and he has had problems with England team mates as well.
It is his ability to reduce some of the best bowlers to hapless bystanders that makes it impossible to ignore him and Pietersen credited it to his self-confidence.
“I’ve got to be confident in my ability,” he told reporters yesterday. “As a South African coming to England, I had to really fight some tough battles and had to be single minded in achieving what I’ve had to achieve.
“I can’t help people thinking I’m arrogant. I think a lot of great sportsmen out there have that little bit something special to them that makes them want to be the best. “I call it confidence. You guys call it arrogance.” Pietersen’s relations with the country’s cricket board hit a low in 2012 when he was dropped for the final test against South Africa at Lord’s in August following a controversial text-message row.
The top order batsman, who has made 7887 runs with 23 centuries in test, said he has learnt lessons from his mistakes.
“We’re getting on really well, all winning together,” he said. “We’ve all played a lot of cricket together … these things happen. You have ups and downs. We all make mistakes.”
