It has taken Kevin Pietersen well under two years in international cricket to convince many good judges he is capable of rewriting the record books.

England's mercurial South Africa-born batsman can list any number of fans with world-class pedigrees of their own; yet perhaps one of the most pertinent voices belongs to Sir Vivian Richards.

While Pietersen is living up to his reputation for bombast off the field as well as on by citing his intention to become the best batsman in the world, the West Indies great has come up with some free advice for cricket's latest sensation.

That, of course, is hardly too outlandish a description for a player who already has more than 1,000 Test runs at approaching 50 an innings and an even more impressive 1,179 at 65.50 in 30 one-day internationals.

Pietersen is setting his sights on improvement rather than mere consolidation of a prolific start as he approaches England's NatWest limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.

"I want to be the best batsman in the world," he offered recently.

"That requires complete determination and hard work to make sure I keep doing the right things."

Richards, meanwhile, appears to see much he admires in the approach of Pietersen who like the former Somerset and Windies number three does not play the game as it is laid down in the coaching manuals.

"I've always thought the idea of playing the ball in a correct way is rubbish and I don't believe it works," said Richards.

"Batsmanship is all about scoring runs and going past fielders.

"You need to find gaps and play the ball where you need it to be played.

"Pietersen does that. He doesn't muck around, and I really like that."