H-B not KP

Oval, Day 1. Surrey 324/6 v Glamorgan

Kevin Pietersen had to wait until almost 3 o’clock yesterday for some action on his first–class debut for Surrey, his first County Championship match since May 2008. As he walked back to the pavilion three minutes later, zero to his name, he was probably wishing the rain had continued to fall.

It wasn’t only the weather that delayed Pietersen’s entrance. Young South African opener Jason Roy demonstrated his potential with a series of crunching drives. It was only over-confidence that got the better of him, as he jumped out of the crease and was bowled by Dean Cosker for 69.

KP never looks comfortable before getting off the mark. His first ball was pushed nervously into the gully. He missed his second and was given out LBW. The bowler was Cosker – a slow left-armer strikes again.

Surrey were in danger of imploding at 136/4, but Rory Hamilton-Brown steadied the innings (if steady can ever be applied to the batting of the Surrey skipper). After a few balls to get his eye in, the ball began to disappear to all parts of the ground.

Hamilton-Brown’s method is simple, and a marked contrast to that of Pietersen – foot to the pitch of the ball, and then smack the thing as hard and as far as possible. Just before tea he began to open up with a six over midwicket off the persevering James Harris, and three more sixes came soon after the break.

He had reached 96 off 84 balls when he went for his seventh six, missed and was stumped off Cosker. Schofield and Batty played out the last few overs of the day with few alarms, and it seems that bowlers will need some help from the batsman to take wickets on this pitch.

Spectators came to see the batting of KP, but left remembering the big hitting of H-B. It was a good swap. Chris Adams has talked a lot recently about using KP’s knowledge and experience in the dressing room, but perhaps it is Pietersen who could learn something from his young captain.