I think you've got it wrong Acker

We're all entitled to our opinions of course but I think you might be getting your cause and effects mixed up.

Is Pietersen afraid of pace and short pitched bowling as you appear to suggest or is it simply because that style of bowling interferes with the way HE wants to play and what makes him so successful?

Sides have worked out fairly quickly that Pietersens foundation stone in batting is his big front foot stride, everything he does is triggered off that movement and therefore it didn't take too much to figure out that to disrupt his batting rhythm and balance at the crease bowling bouncers at him to push him back off that front foot was the answer.

Is it any surprise therefore that he doesn't like it? It's stopping him from batting in the way he wants to bat and because he gets onto that front foot almost unconciously having bouncers coming at him in that position would be somewhat disconcerting.

It's perfectly true, that this tactic to counter Pietersen is working fairly successfully as his batting returns have diminished since sides started to do it - but that still does't mean that he fears fast bowling or bouncers - it just means he has to adjust his game and technique to counter them - and that's something he is yet to do.

Pietersen has arrived at this point in his International career with some pretty decent batting returns behind him and just like Strauss had a very good introduction to International Cricket and also like Strauss sides have worked out how to bowl at him and also like Strauss he now needs to go away and come up with a solution.

So as you can see, I don't buy into your view that he's scared of fast bowling or short pitched bowling - but he does need to come up with a solution of how to deal with it and hooking and pulling short balls isn't a very reliable long term solution.

He's smart enough to work it out though.