Pietersen's cavalier strokeplay has brought him centuries in both Tests in the current series against Sri Lanka.

"People said Compton did outrageous things," said Boycott, in his column for the BBC Sport website.

"But everybody I speak to tells me Compton had a sound basic technique and played lot of orthodox cricket shots -- Kevin Pietersen does the same."

The 25-year-old's hundred at Edgbaston took his total to 1,203 runs from 13 Tests at an average of 50.12 and he is now in the top 10 of both the Test and one-day batting rankings.

Compton, who was also an accomplished footballer with Arsenal, finished with a similar average after scoring 5,807 runs in 78 Tests between 1937-57.

Like Pietersen, his flamboyance on and off the field earned him celebrity status.

Pietersen's performances have fuelled talk of him ranking alongside the greats of English cricket when his career finishes.

Boycott added: "It's too early to say that but he certainly has the ability and desire to go a long way.

"It's difficult to judge somebody so early in his career but what's gone so far is very good.

"Let's be frank, the Sri Lankan bowlers are not very good apart from Murali, who is an exceptional player even though Pietersen played him superbly.

"The rest of the bowling is pretty ordinary but all you can do is play well against what you're given."