“Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I can’t believe that things have happened the way they’ve happened.”

Ahead of the fourth Test match against India at The Oval, Kevin Pietersen has been reminiscing about the ground that was host to many of his finest moments in an England shirt and what the cricket ground has meant to him.

“This is the Oval, it’s full of history,” he said to Betway. “It is something truly unique. The atmosphere here is second to none. You start to get those goosebumps and I tell you, you just want to perform. When you get the opportunity to come to the Oval it means so much to you.

“It’s not too many grounds where you actually walk straight through the fans [from the dressing room to the pitch]. Where the fans can actually touch you.”

Perhaps his most famous moment at the famous ground was also one of his first, when his maiden Test century sealed the 2005 Ashes in stunning style. He came to the crease with the game in the balance, England 67-3 and soon 126-5, and though he struggled before lunch on the final day, launched a vicious counterattack after the break to ensure the hosts would avoid defeat.

“In the Ashes in 2005, I came down and I was in a panic,” he said. “I had absolutely no time at all to even think about batting. McGrath was bowling and I was lucky enough to get that 158. Michael Vaughan lifted the urn for England and it was the first time in 18 years.

“When I came back up the stairs after that 158 it was absolute chaos. Just being swamped as a player, by the fans, you want to experience that.”

Pietersen had more success at The Oval in 2011, crashing 175 against India to drive England to a series whitewash, claiming the No.1 ICC Test team ranking in the process. However, for him it’s the dismissal of the opposition captain that takes pride of place.

“Dreams have been created on this very ground. It was around here that I was celebrating my first ever Ashes Test match hundred. We then went to No.1 in the world having beaten India 4-0. That’s what it was: 4-0. We got the mace and we did the celebrations around the ground.

“Just over there, 30 yards away, is where Alastair Cook was under a high ball,” he said. “And guess who the batter was? Mr Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He’d knocked me for a monster, monster six. Almost went out of the ground, into the Thames, gone. I held the next one back and, MS, I’m afraid to say dude [gestures to pocket] you’re in there. And I’m not in your pocket.

“Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I can’t believe that things have happened the way they’ve happened and there are so many fond memories that I just wish could happen again.”