David Lloyd picks “box-office” Kevin Pietersen as England’s best ever batter

Former England player and Sky Sports pundit David Lloyd believes Kevin Pietersen was a better batter than the likes of Joe Root, David Gower, Graham Gooch and Geoffrey Boycott

David Lloyd has named Kevin Pietersen as the best England batter he has ever seen, describing him as a player with “a wonderful arrogance about him that demanded you watch”.

In his illustrious Test career, Pietersen scored 8,181 runs and 23 centuries at an average of 47.28 and was a key component of the Andy Flower side which was ranked number one in the world and won the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years.

Although he sits behind Sir Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart and David Gower on the list of England’s all-time leading Test run scorers, Lloyd believes he is the best of them all.

When asked to name England’s greatest ever batter, Lloyd told the Daily Mail : “There are so many I could select from those I’ve seen – and I’ve seen a few – and it’s very hard to separate them. But the best English batsman I’ve watched is Pietersen.

“He was just a box-office player, so commanding and a real presence at the crease. He could change gears and win a game and had a wonderful arrogance about him that demanded you watch.”

While Lloyd believes Pietersen is the best England batter he has ever seen, he ranks the likes of Geoffrey Boycott, Gooch, Gower and Root just behind him. He added: “I can’t leave Geoffrey Boycott out for one simple reason – he wouldn’t allow me to!

“I’ve had some real ding-dongs with him but I actually love him to bits. Not everybody’s cup of tea but the best player of his era.

“I had great admiration for Gooch, who transformed himself from a dasher to one of the best there’s been. Immensely brave and ahead of his time in realising you had to get yourself as fit as possible.

“Gower was masterful. He captured the imagination and was poetic, really, all finesse and touch. In a game that is changing rapidly, Root is now a combination of all those I’ve mentioned. Joe is a modern great who is going to get better and better.”

Meanwhile, Matthew Mott’s time as England’s ODI coach got off to the perfect start on Friday after his side thrashed the Netherlands by 232 runs, having set the highest ever score with the bat.