So long Kevin Pietersen! Thanks for the memories

A whirlwind century at Colombo

Colombo, 2012. In the previous Test at Galle, the world number one Test team had slumped to its 4th straight defeat. England were caught in a spin tangle. After being done in by the guile and variations of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman during the 3-0 whitewash in the UAE, the English batsmen had struggled against the accuracy and consistency of Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv.

More than anything else it was a mental block against the slow, turning ball. An out-of-the-box approach was needed to break the spin hoodoo. Enter Kevin Pietersen.

On a hot and humid day, on a slow P Sara Oval pitch where batsmen struggled to get their timing right, Pietersen made batting look incredibly easy to bring up his 20th century. Along with his trademark aggression, his sense of improvisation was also brought to the fore as he unleashed the controversial switch hit to great effect. The unconventional methods of Pietersen put off the Lankan spinners to such an extent that the Sri Lankan skipper had to request the umpires to intervene and prevent Pietersen from playing the shot.

By the time his knock of 151 off just 168 deliveries got over, Pietersen had ensured a big first innings lead and shown his mates how to conquer the turning ball.

---

Apparently, the working relation between Andy Flower and Pietersen had reached an impasse. It had effectively come down to an ‘either him or me’ situation. With Flower stepping down from his role of team director it seemed that the management has sided with the maverick batsman. There was also a sense of deja vu as in 2009 Pietersen, then skipper of the national side, had a fallout with the coach Peter Moores which ultimately led to Moores’ ouster.

During the Australian tour the skipper Alastair Cook and Ashley Giles, the limited overs coach and Flower’s most likely successor praised Pietersen’s commitment to the team, with the latter even terming the South African-born a ‘million dollar asset’.

His sacking soon after such kind of comments not only betrays a lack of cohesion and understanding among the people who are at the helm of affairs but also sends a wrong signal to other team members.

The ECB has decided to stick by the captain and after the disastrous Ashes campaign their priority is to rebuild the team, but now it will be difficult for Cook to gain the trust of the youngsters. It won’t sit well with the likes of Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Gary Ballance that irrespective of their performance on the field, they will be judged by how good their equation with the team management is.

---

The utter disdain with which Kevin Pietersen faced Dale Steyn and co. made for breathless viewing

Headingley, 2012. England’s number one ranking in Tests was under threat. A well-rounded South African side was breathing down their neck, having already registered a comprehensive victory in the first Test at The Oval.

For Kevin Pietersen, there was more to the equation. It had been seven years since his debut and now his commitment to the team’s cause was under suspicion. His work ethic was questioned. His loyalty to his captain was under a cloud. The dressing room was a hostile place for him. He would rather be in the middle than in the confinement of the dressing room.

Well, things weren’t too friendly on the pitch either. In the middle, he was up against the best fast bowling line up in recent times. Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Jaques Kallis – the ensemble was as good as it gets. But Pietersen took the attack by the scruff of its neck and made his most flamboyant and majestic hundred at home.

While his teammates scratched around on a pitch that was two-paced, Pietersen seemed oblivious to the nature of the pitch. In all probability he was oblivious to his teammates as well. It was all about him against the Proteas attack. Batting with tremendous conviction and loads of self belief, he tore into the best attack in the world and smashed them around the historic ground, including a stunning straight six over the head of Steyn. The knock of 149, as much as it was against South Africa, was also intended to prove a point to his own team.

After the game Pietersen gained lots of media attention, which one would think was natural following such a majestic innings. Except that issues far removed from his batting made headlines, and he was dropped for the next Test.

---

It is no secret that Pietersen is not an easy man to manage. He is often perceived as arrogant and self-obsessed who puts his own agenda much ahead of the team’s cause. He was the rock-star in the team of commoners. But there was nothing that couldn’t have been managed – that’s what the team management is there for.

Instead of taking the easy way out of sacking him, efforts should have been made to find a middle path. Pander to his ego if need be. Despite all the troubles he might be creating, Pietersen’s amazing match winning ability tilts the cost-benefit analysis in his favour. It is even more peculiar that a management issue occurred in the English set-up, which employs an army of support staff.

While Cook’s captaincy, by general consensus, is considered quite bland and lacks imagination, his man-management skills have been frequently acclaimed, especially after his role in getting Pietersen back into the squad in 2012. But his subsequent sacking just 15 months after the much hyped ‘reintegration’ is bound to raise uncomfortable questions about Cook’s leadership abilities.

---

The ‘reintegration was complete’ at Mumbai

Mumbai, 2012. Kevin Pietersen nearly didn’t play the series. It needed an intervention from the newly appointed skipper Alastair Cook to get him back in the fold. It seemed a compromise then but soon proved to be a master-stroke.

After a thumping 9 wicket victory in the first Test in Ahmedabad, India looked set to grind England into the dust, quite literally. Even the toss went India’s way and by the time the second innings of the match got underway the visitors were up against it – a score in excess of 300 and three spinners to contend with on the brown Wankhede strip. To say that the wicket was a turner would be an understatement.

When Pietersen came to the crease the Indians were on top courtesy two quick wickets. The ball was misbehaving in every possible manner. But England’s number 4 displayed a knock of unmatched quality to defy the treacherous wicket. He defended with surety and attacked with intent to script a masterpiece of rare magnificence. The confidence with which he danced down the wicket against the spinners and hit them over the infield was beyond belief. With able support from Cook, who made a superb hundred himself, Pietersen’s 186 took the game away from the Indians and proved to be the cornerstone of one of England’s greatest achievements in Test cricket in recent times.

Just to put things in perspective, the combined tally of all English batsmen apart from Pietersen and Cook was a mere 89 and the Indians, master players of spin themselves, were bundled out for just 142 in their second dig. At the press conference in the same evening he said he was happy with his performance but above all he would love to see his team win the Test because of his effort.

The ‘reintegration’ was well and truly complete.

---

It will be a bizarre situation for the 33-year-old Pietersen as, though unwanted by the ECB, he will be a hot commodity in several twenty20 leagues around the world. He will continue to entertain cricket lovers around the world with his breathtaking strokeplay and surreal abilities.

But as things stand today, we may have seen the last of Pietersen on the grand stage of Test cricket. Despite the million bucks he is going to make with his franchise teams, he will be hurt at the prospect of not representing his country ever again.

All said and done, you have to hand it to him. It really is hard being Kevin Pietersen.