Pietersen brought back to earth with a bump

When Kevin Pietersen tumbled headlong into the boundary boards yesterday, it was possible to see a man coming down to earth. He spent the rest of the afternoon on the dressing-room balcony with an ice pack massaging a bruised elbow, and, were he the type, might have required something similar for his ego.

Pietersen is the new glamour boy of English cricket, the latest in a line that began with Denis Compton more than 50 years ago. Time has moved on, and where Brylcreem did for Compo, lending him the image of a matinee idol crooner, his latest successor sports a white streak in the middle of his hair and designer earrings which suggest he is one interview away from landing a spot as lead singer in a boy band.

It is unquestionable that Pietersen has embraced his celebrity status as passionately as the public have embraced Curse of the Were Rabbit - and boy would KP have loved to be at that premiere. But it is equally undeniable that he trains extremely hard on fitness and technique, aware that cricket in general, and that gloriously unforgettable Ashes-turning 158 at the Oval in particular, have propelled him on to the celebrity circuit, somewhere between B list and A list.

Life after 12/9, if the day on which England reclaimed the Ashes can be referred to as such, will never be the same again for England's cricketers. But the trouble with modern sporting celebrity, especially when you chase the limelight with Pietersen's gusto, is that you are expected to turn it on every time.

This is impossible. The very nature of cricket, its new adherents should know, means that every cricketer experiences more bad days than good. Thus Pietersen's first Test innings after his masterpiece lasted seven balls and yielded five runs yesterday. There was one no-nonsense four wide of extra cover, but it all ended rather tamely with an uncertain jab to short leg. In five innings on this tour he has scored only 21 runs.

The injury was caused by a characteristic piece of Pietersen bravado. He chased the ball swiftly to the boundary and was not about to give it up. Result: pain in a nerve. Perhaps he is a trifle confused at present. The England coach, Duncan Fletcher, said that Pietersen would bat at four after the decision had been made to drop Ian Bell. But when Bell had to be recalled for the injured Michael Vaughan at No 3, Pietersen was relegated to his usual position at No 5.

Nothing to be alarmed about. However, Pietersen fans should become accustomed to the fact that he will play one match-turning innings in 10. The golden boy of the team, Andrew Flintoff, also struggled yesterday. But the difference was that he struggled to 45. By the end of play Flintoff had also taken five wickets in the match. But it took "Freddie" maybe 25 matches to become a real Test cricketer, who knew how to pace himself; Pietersen has played six.

There is an outside chance that they were preoccupied with the plight of their injured skipper Vaughan, who has been jogging and had a gentle net session yesterday. Nobody is talking up his chances of recovering from his twisted knee in time for the next Test. The official line from a team spokesman was the banal: "We're taking it one day at a time." Sweet Jesus, as they added in the song of that name.