The two giants of English cricket go head to head for only the second time in their careers, when Kevin Pietersen’s Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Andrew Flintoff’s Chennai Super Kings in Port Elizabeth on Monday.
Team-mates in the England team for the last five years, it is on the public record that they are not the closest of bedfellows.
Pietersen was disappointed that Flintoff failed to back him when he went public with his criticisms of then coach Peter Moores last year. There is also a barely-repressed rivalry between the pair over who is top dog in the England team.
But the opportunity for the duo to face each competitively is a unique chance to use that animosity creatively.
Only once has it happened before, when, rather bizarrely, Nottingham’s Pietersen dismissed Lancashire’s Flintoff on 97 with his off-spinners.
Flintoff is a top-line bowler who also bats in a front-line position, usually number six to KP’s four. Yet, how many great partnerships have the duo shared?
Offhand, last August’s first ODI against South Africa springs to mind. Pietersen (90) and Flintoff (78) put on 158 in 21.1 overs, as England set a winning target of 275.
And apart from that? Not much! A fine partnership between the pair in the 2005 Ashes Test in the first innings at Edgbaston, where Flintoff decided to target Shane Warne whilst KP played second fiddle in a 103-run stand.
There are others, but the point remains. The two talismanic cricketers haven’t really produced in tandem. By facing each other in the IPL, however, they may learn about each other’s game more than any number of net sessions can allow.
As the bowler, Flintoff will be probing KP’s areas, looking for advantages and ways to dismiss the batsman. He will be able to see what areas the batsman tries to avoid, what length of ball the batsman is uncomfortable with. He can see how the batsman reacts to pressure, how he deals with three dot balls, or how he copes as the non-striker in losing a batsman at the other end.
It will help Flintoff when he comes to bat with KP in the colours of England, later in the summer.
Freddie will know slightly better Pietersen’s modus operandi, when he wants to take a run and when he doesn’t. When he is struggling with a particular bowler, and why.
By understanding each other’s games slightly better from the experience of head-to-head battle, it may help two talented individuals operate slightly more effectively in a team situation.