After coming back to the Sport.co.uk towers after a rather indulgent lunch, I slumped back into my chair and waited for the post-meal fatigue to come into effect. “Kevin Pietersen interview, at 2?” I nearly fell out of my chair...
For the record, it’s a poorly constructed chair but that’s not to say I was not fairly excited to talk to one of England’s South African-born sons. Having watched Pietersen dominate bowling attacks across the world, with more disdain than Cheryl (and anyone outside of Chelsea) has for Ashley, I was very aware that soon I would be on the phone with greatness.
Unwanted rest
That being said, Pietersen has not been having the best of times at the moment – despite performing well during England’s international T20 World Cup win in the West Indies, KP has enjoyed limited success in ODIs, where he is yet to pass 50 since being sacked as captain 18 months ago. This coupled with his Achilles injury during the Ashes series has meant the man from Natal has cut a frustrated figure sometime. Many suspected Pietersen’s poor run of form to be the main reason behind his “rest” from the England side, that have just beaten Bangladesh, despite the insistence from the England camp that a thigh injury picked up in the final ODI against Australia is the sole reason behind KP’s absence; a claim that Pietersen refutes: “It was never, ever my decision – it was the management’s decision.”
'Short, back and sides please..'
He was clearly irritated by the notion that he would willingly sit out an England game. Sensing his tone, I decide to move off topic; a more callus journalist would have poked and probed the Natal beast, but given that my computer is teetering on the edge of two desks, I felt I wasn’t established enough to challenge someone who frowns upon even the more revered sporting commentators. Pietersen’s decline in the One Day game has coincided with Eoin Morgan’s rise in stock; the pint sized Irishman has been internationally praised for both his performances for the IPL’s Royal Challenger’s and England. Morgan’s prominence as England’s man of the moment has left many to believe that Pietersen feels he is in trouble of becoming a forgotten man. That being said, Pietersen recognises Morgan’s value to the England set up. “He’s done a really good job, he’s come to the team and shown a lot of calmness and has heaps of natural ability. He’s a solid bloke in the dressing room as well, which helps.”
KP in full flight - Aussie bashing
Awww the England dressing room, it used to be such a fragile place; Flintoff’s follower’s vs. KP’s... well ok KP. But ever since Pietersen’s appointment as successor to Michael Vaughan, it has been a breeding ground for discontent. I ask him if he feels the stability brought about by Andrew Strauss was a major factor in England’s successes over the last 18 months, he replies, “Who?”. I enunciate, more out of frustration than purpose, “Oh right... yes, of course. It’s brilliant, the job that they have been doing, has been exceptional. They’ve been really good, yeah.” Insightful stuff.
Substance over Style
England coach, Andy Flower feels that KP needs to spend more time at the crease and show more than just brief glimpses of brilliance. Poor shot selection seems to be his biggest issue, “It’s just a matter of him being able to stay long enough at the crease. Cameos are useful but the really big scores not only change the momentum of the game but often decide the result.” On his day, there is only a handful of batsman who can hold a candle to KP’s destructive batting; for me the sight of 'FIGJAM' walking down the wicket to an opening bowler and pulling him through midwicket off the front foot/driving him on the up back over the bowler’s head is nothing short of breathtaking. But as much as I love the bravado, too many times he is found wanting and not “filling his boots” so to speak. Nothing would please me more than to see him back in form and back in the runs, but he doesn’t seem to buy it. He refuses to answer further questions on what he feels England should focus on in the Ashes, but champions Steven Finn to make his mark down under.
New beginnings
Given that he has announced he will leave Hampshire at the end of the season, I enquire about prospective suitors on the county scene, “I’ve got nothing to do with that, my management company is dealing with that.” Judging by his response, and his tone, I get the impression he sees county cricket as more of a chore than anything else. Still wet behind the ears, I ask him about ‘freelance cricketers’ and whether it’s something that he might look into in the latter part of his career.
“I don’t know mate, we’ll have to wait and see. I’ve had a couple of injuries in the last 12 months, I’m the wrong side of 30 now, so it’s something you think about, you know? But right now, I’m just loving what I’m doing.” I enquire as to whether he feels Test cricket would suffer if more people looked to become freelance cricketers.
“I don’t really know anyone who has given up test cricket yet, so I don’t really know who you are talking about.” I mention Andrew Flintoff, as well as Brendan McCullum’s revelation in his new book, “Inside Twenty20”, that he contemplated turning his back on his country following the 2nd edition of the IPL.
“There’s nobody that I know who’s given up test cricket to play, I don’t know who you are going on about.”
I leave it there, it’s apparent that I won’t convince him with further examples of Andrew Flintoff (who rejected an ECB central contract last year), Andrew Symonds and Shaun Tait.
The Brylcream boy wields two axes
Bitter ex-rivals
Graham Thorpe recently expressed his fears that KP may be on a downward spiral as he sees his runs drying up. Given the benign nature of the interview I start to ask him about Thorpe’s comments. At the mere mention of the former England batsman’s name he starts chuckling and finally shows a bit of zest.
“I think he’s probably been wanting to say it for a long time since I took his place. It’s nice that Thorpey’s got himself mentioned in a few interviews and that he’s done an interview. It’s probably nice for him to see his name in the papers, it’s nice, and it’s good. I couldn’t care what he says or anything else; it’s not constructive and probably no point saying it. I’ll be in his position in a few years time! He’ll talk about players who are in-form and out of form, but at least he’s got himself in the media, must be really nice for him!”
I sympathise with KP to a point; he’s treated like a celebrity rather than a sportsman, but it goes without saying that he would love the best of both. The only issue is that when things aren’t going for you on the pitch, your fortunes off the pitch tend to follow suit. If you were to compile a list of the most famous cricketers in the world, only a small fraction of them would also happen to find themselves on a list of the best cricketers in the world. KP will always have a place near the top of the famous list, but he will be infuriated that his time is slowly running out to be near the top of latter list. Given his current bleak situation, let’s hope he’s a barrel of laughs come the end of the next Ashes series...
'Kevin Pietersen is the Brylcreem Boy and face of their new range, which includes new Cream, Clay and Extreme Gel'