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Petersen was not given a long rope in the ODIs, hence he could not prove his worth in the shorter form despite demonstrating that he could be a very important part of the South African middle order in times to come. He bats aggressively at the death, and when the chips are down, he can steadily build an innings too.

However, in February 2010, Petersen made his Test debut against in India at Kolkata and became the third South African to score a hundred on debut. The heady success was followed by big lows, he failed to score runs in the three Test series against West Indies, Pakistan and India before being dropped from the side.

He then went to sign for Glamorgan in the 2011 season and was the highest run-getter for them. He also had a good string of scores for his domestic side, Highveld Lions. With runs behind his belt, and South Africa struggling to find a stable opening partner for Graeme Smith, Petersen was recalled to the Test side against Sri Lanka at Cape Town in January, 2012. He scored a hundred in his comeback match and since then has been a regular member in the Test squad. Petersen has hardly missed a Test since his comeback but has not scored a hundred in the last 11 Tests that he has played. With the retirement of Graeme Smith, the team management would want Petersen to step up and guide the younger opener who comes through.

Fact: Petersen is the captain of Highveld Lions. He led them to the title in their domestic T20 tournament in 2012-13. He also took them to the Champions League finals, but they went on to lose to Sydney Sixers.

Written by Akshay Maanay

As of April 2014