Mr Ego Pietersen set to sweep to 100th Test

BRISBANE: He’s "arrogant" and "Mr. Ego", but as he prepares for his 100th Test this week in Brisbane, England’s Kevin Pietersen is not just unapologetic, he seems to be loving the attention.

The swaggering, flashy batsman with a mouth to match has been the main target of Australian media in the Ashes build-up, eclipsing even unpopular bowler Stuart Broad.

"He’s so arrogant not even his own team likes him," read a headline in Brisbane’s Courier-Mail, while another report said he was "widely despised in the cricketing community".

But Pietersen, whose South African accent has marked him out as different for his entire England career, has shown every sign of relishing the exchanges.

Like Broad, who is under attack for failing to give himself out at a key moment in the last Ashes series, Pietersen has happily returned fire.

In mainly good-humoured exchanges on Twitter, Pietersen labelled Australians as "convicts" and suggested nobody outside the country had even heard of Brisbane.

As he approached the 100-Test milestone, Pietersen, who has survived turbulent times to remain a linchpin of the England side, explained why he can come across as brash.

"I’ve got to be confident in my ability," he said. "Clearly, as a South African coming into England, I had to really fight some tough battles and had to be single-minded in achieving what I’ve had to try and achieve.

"I cant help people thinking that I’m arrogant. I think a lot of great sportsmen out there have that little bit of something to them that makes them try and be the best and want to be the best.

"I call it confidence. You guys (media) call it arrogance, it makes for better headlines."

Pietersen, born and raised in South Africa, has been a controversial figure since opting to represent the native country of his mother.

Even his telling contributions with the bat have failed to convince doubters, who still question whether the man with the Three Lions tattoo should be wearing an England shirt.

His maiden Test century was an audacious counter-assault against an attack including Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Shane Warne that saw England wrest back the Ashes in 2005. And in Mumbai last year, he made 186 against India on a spinners pitch where most batsmen were struggling just to stay at the crease.

Pietersen’s decision to abandon South Africa was partly motivated by the post-apartheid quota system, which he felt was harming his prospects. The fact that South Africa, which classed him as an off-spinner who batted, didn’t quite realise what they had may have been due to Pietersens unorthodoxy. An initial overly-long stride forward, and an ability to whip off-stump deliveries through midwicket, are not in the coaching manual.

And few players as talented as Pietersen can look so nervous and uncertain in the early stages of an innings. Yet the combination of will, a fantastic eye, skill and a six feet four inches (1.93 metres) frame all allow him to play shots few others can match.