Pietersen's performance as captain no surprise to those who know him

Simon Wilde | August 11, 2008 IT is very early days, of course, but Kevin Pietersen is making the business of Test captaincy look ridiculously effortless. A century in his first innings (a feat not achieved by an official England captain for 111 years), a deft hand with bowling changes, South African wickets falling like confetti -- not bad for a man who had the job dumped in his lap with four days' notice. Those who have known him well are not surprised. Since his schooldays, Pietersen has repeatedly shown an appetite for hard work and determination to meet a challenge. The appearance of effortlessness has come only with the most thorough preparation. "He always believed he could do anything," said Mike Bechet, the director of sport at Maritzburg College, which Pietersen attended until 1997. "He claimed in his book that he... [read full story]