The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have just announced that they are to part ways with their highest-scoring batsman of all time - Kevin Pietersen. Following a disastrous Ashes Tour from which few, if any, positives can be taken, this unsavoury divorce only adds to the England team’s woe. Alongside the sacking of coach Andy Flower, Pietersen’s contract termination means it is the Southern Africans who have taken the blame for the side’s capitulation Down Under.
But Pietersen’s exit from the national fold will certainly not be mourned in all quarters. His petulant, precocious and seemingly selfish nature has split opinion since he burst onto the scene a decade ago. With his bleached blond hair, forthright nature and aggressive style at the crease, Pietersen certainly did not fit the usual template of an England player and certainly ruffled the feathers of English cricket’s Establishment.
His background certainly has not helped. Born and raised in Kwazulu-Natal, it was not until the age of 21 that he made the trek to play for Nottinghamshire, citing disillusionment with South Africa’s racial quota system. His English mother made him eligible to represent his adopted country and, after a residence period of four years, he joined the ranks of Greig, Lamb, Hick et al in swapping allegiances from Southern Africa to England. From the start he was the focal point of the England side in both Test Match and One Day International Cricket, and his unorthodox and swashbuckling style left bowlers quaking in their boots at grounds around the world
But controversy has blighted his career from start to finish. Disputes with management ended his short-lived reign as captain and cost the well-respected coach Peter Moores his job. At times it felt as if Pietersen saw himself as bigger than the team, with shortsighted shot selection ending many an innings of late. He ends his career with more runs than any other player who has represented England, but the unanimous decision not to select him for the tour to the West Indies demonstrates that the thin ice has finally cracked beneath his feet.
England will see his departure as a chance to start afresh and rebuild anew. There will surely be more to come in this saga, with rumours of backroom bust-ups and fall-outs already abound, but one thing is for sure: English cricket has lost an exceptional talent, the like of which we will probably never see again, for better or worse.
