DailyTelegraph
October 12, 2005
HE'S had supermodel Caprice hanging off his arm since he arrived in the country but England Ashes hero Kevin Pietersen is still talking about the Sydney woman who remains close to his heart.
The 25-year-old walked the red carpet with his glamour girlfriend at last night's International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards at The Rocks, along with teammates from cricket's star-studded World XI side and their Australian opponents.
But despite his new romance, Pietersen has revealed he fears he may never re-discover the kind of relationship he had with his former long-term squeeze, Sydney advertising art director Cate Pugh.
The pair met in a bar when the South African-born batsman was playing in Australia in 2001 and Pugh later moved to live with him in Nottingham.
But the couple split in October last year as Pietersen's international career began to take off and a homesick Pugh returned to Sydney.
"We went through so much together and it's just unfortunate that distance pulled us apart," Pietersen told UK paper the Daily Mail.
"She had the kind of qualities you don't often find in people and I'm not sure I will ever find them again . . . especially not now."
The renowned ladies' man said he was still in touch with his 28-year-old former lover, although Confidential understands she is overseas while he is here with the World XI and Caprice.
And from the look of things at Bondi yesterday, Pietersen can't be missing Pugh too much.
The skunk-haired party boy and the blonde bombshell he now calls his missus walked with arms around each other after a spot of shopping.
It was then off to the glitzy ICC Awards do at the Four Seasons Hotel, where Pietersen and Caprice were joined by the World XI's other notable ladies' men, including Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara and Shoaib Akhtar.
Much is expected of the group during this visit, having arrived in Sydney with rock star status and an impressive track record of playing up on previous cricket tours.
