Wednesday 14 January 2009

The Pietersen Affair

Kevin Pietersen's reign as England captain has been brought to an end almost as quickly as it takes him to compile one of his swashbuckling centuries. Indeed his short tenure contained all the incident of an eye-catching Pietersen innings, but unfortunately ended with the sour taste of falling for a first-ball duck.

The whole incident covers none of the parties concerned in glory, but Pietersen's role in particular seems to have stirred up the most negative of reactions. Of the accusations flung his way, I find myself in sympathy with very few.

For a start, a large percentage of criticism directed his way seems unrelated to this particular incident. It is as if a lid has been lifted and critics are using an unsavory incident to vent all their long-held misgivings and problems with the former England skipper.

Certain quarters of the press just couldn't wait for this to happen - in their eyes Pietersen has always been guilty of the crime of not being very English. I do not mean this merely in the fact that he was not born and bred in this country, though this is the root of the problem, but it is more to do with the fact that nothing about the Kevin Pietersen package is in keeping with the English psyche.

He is brash, does not shy away from conflict, has complete confidence in his own abilities and can seem arrogant. But what is wrong with any of these qualities? In Australian cricketers they seem to be positive characteristics wistfully and ruefully admired from afar. "If only England players could adopt that attitude."

Glenn McGrath predicted at the start of the 2005 Ashes series that his Australia team would whitewash their English counterparts 5-0. Arrogance? Of course, but backed up by a genuine belief in his own and his teams abilities. The English media picked up on this brash statement and it was used by all concerned to try to spur the ultimately victorious England side on. 

But, far from condemning him, the English reaction towards McGrath the individual, was one largely of admiration. Arrogant Aussie banter it may have been, but he was speaking his mind; he genuinely believed in his words.

And why not? If those are the sort of noises being banded about the Australian dressing room as a genuine target for the series, then credit a player who discloses such information to the cricketing world. Such nuggets are gold dust to a press who are increasingly dealing with PR savy sporting professionals. 

Genuine self belief and the speaking of one's mind have traditionally been Australian traits, and ones with which Kevin Pietersen can identify. But whereas it is a thing to be admired in the Australian setup, we have always been wary of Pietersen's own brand of self confidence. As with much of the way in which the game is evolving, we view the unknown with a definite sense of unease.

Whilst one may struggle to defend his attitude if his performances since his international debut in 2004 had been substandard, the simple fact is he's backed up his confidence with brilliance on the pitch. Comfortably England's best batsman, arguably the world's, Pietersen, just like the Australia team of the last decade, could not have achieved their dominance without this genuine and unwavering self belief.

If Ian Bell could marry his undoubted and considerable talent with a Pietersenesque confidence, then maybe he'd be closer to his former captain's century count. But apparently repeatedly failing to fulfil god-given potential is a far inferior crime than doing so in style.

Complimenting his Southern Hemisphere attitude is a far from conventional batting technique. Again this characterises Pietersen, and sets him apart from his English team mates. Eye-catching, bar emptying, switch-hitting, the most exciting sight in world cricket when in full flow, yet he still hasn't been able to fully win round the establishment of the English game after four years of representing the three lions.

Pietersen would have expected a moderate amount of suspicion directed his way as he made it over from his homeland to embark on his English cricketing journey. Deciding that the only way to convince the doubters was by proving himself on the pitch, he set to work. 

The big early test of his fledgling international career was batting for England in South Africa. Vilified by the home fans, this was as tough an examination as any sportsman could expect throughout their whole career. England failed, losing 4-1, but Pietersen came away with the man-of-the-series award and three centuries to his name. Committed to the cause? He looked it.

In fact that series set the tone for the next four years. Virtually ever-present in the test and ODI teams, Pietersen has excelled for the country of his mother's birth. Foreigners seeking British citizenship have to complete forms and tests to prove their commitment to the country - 158 series-winning runs on the final day of an Ashes series should add weight to the least convincing of application forms. 

Of course, until now detractors had no reason to publicly condemn Pietersen, but the Moores affair has given them just that. 

Peter Moores was a man with whom, in a cricketing sense, Kevin Pietersen could not get on. They differed in approach, philosophy and application. The coach-captain relationship is key, and when Pietersen deemed the situation unworkable he decided to do something about it. He could have waited, in a very English way, until this year's Ashes series had past, thus jeopardizing his team's chances, but he chose not to merely muddle through - he never has been very English.











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