CA's contracted players chose Englishman Kevin Pietersen as the best batsman in the world outside their country.

Sachin Tendulkar failed to get a single vote.

Tendulkar may have been a thorn in Australia's flesh for 18 long years and possess virtually every other batting record but the current 25 Crciket Australia-contracted players did not deem him worth of even a single vote.

Sangakkara is the surprise second best batsman

Instead, they picked former England captain Pietersen as the current batsman they feared most, giving him 50 per cent votes in a survey conducted this year, according to 'The Age'.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who has scored 503 runs from six matches at an average of 41.91 against the Australians, was the surprise second best batsman with 34 per cent votes.

In comparison, Tendulkar has scored 2748 runs from 29 matches at an average of 56.08 against the Australians.

Pietersen, on the other hand, has made 963 runs from 10 matches at 53.50 average against Australia, but the 29-year-old's attitude has attracted just as much admiration as his record.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith and teammate Jacques Kallis got seven per cent of votes apiece.

Ponting pays tribute to Pietersen

Australia captain Ricky Ponting paid glowing tribute to Pietersen and said, "He's the sort of player, who is always taking the game forward. I'm not sure of his strike rate in Test cricket (63.35) but generally when he makes runs he gets them at a pretty good speed.

"I think Pietersen is their classiest player. He's aggressive, he takes the game on, and those sort of players, when they start to get going, they can bring a few more of their teammates along with them," he added.

For Brett Lee too, Pietersen is one of the hardest batsmen in the world to bowl to when he is on song.

"I don't care what anyone says - I've bowled against him when he's playing well and he picks the ball very, very early, he hangs late back in his crease and gives himself that extra time. He plays all the shots and he's an aggressive person.

"Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are the two players who are most like Aussie players, the way they've got that controlled aggression, the way they don't want to let an opponent, I suppose, scare them or overpower them. When you've got that with a player with his talent, it's a pretty handy mix," Lee said.

Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, however, feels the pressure on England's star batsman might make him vulnerable.

"I still think Ricky Ponting is the best batsman in the world. (But) Pietersen has got so much talent, he can hit your good balls for four or even six," he said.