Kevin Pietersen v Glenn McGrath

Occasionally, during a cricket match, there's a passage of play where someone attempts to make some sort of an impact beyond that particular delivery, that over or even the match.

With Test cricket being played over a series, players often talk of having a psychological hold over the opposition. Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne have had a psychological hold over England batsmen for as long as we can remember. One good ball, early on in a series, is enough to make the English worry about what's to come.

Bearing this in mind, was it just us, or did Kevin Pietersen try and knock Glenn McGrath out of his career last night? Glenn's first over (not with the new ball, which went to Stuart Clark) went for 4, 0, 4, 0, 4 and 0. It seemed to us that Pietersen was trying to make a statement above and beyond his not being afraid of McGrath. He was implying that McGrath was a liability.

It may be that McGrath's injured, but he only bowled 12 overs yesterday; he didn't get the new ball; and nor did he get a wicket. It's certainly not his pitch, but that didn't used to matter. It will be intriguing to see how he fights back.

You can say that it's just one bad day for McGrath, but Glenn McGrath NEVER used to have bad days. Especially against England.