Bidhan, If you are to consider past performances, you will have to include Sachin Tendulkar alsong with Brian Lara as well. Stephen Fleming's inclusion may be a little shaky, but you can find no one to replace Kevin Pietersen. I think it was his innings in the last Ashes test that gave England the Ashes after 2 decades. While the other Englishmen were crumbling under the pressure (esp. from Warne), Kevin Pietersen showed no sign of faltering. And then there is the hundred against India (or was it Pakistan?). Plus, the recent hundred against Sri Lanka. If there is one contemporary cricketer that you can compare to Viv Richards, Pietersen would have to be it.