KP Echoes AB

Kevin Pietersen's striking honesty in last week's infamous newspaper interview is neither an entirely novel concept, nor necessarily a damaging one.

England are in the midst of a turbulent tour of the Carribean. Clearly Strauss's men should not be suggesting otherwise in dealings with the press, but nor, arguably, should they be trotting out the usual media-training favourites; we've got a long way to go, one step at a time, and the captain's personal favourite, we'll take the positives. Such phrases turn a press conference or interview into a banal and largely pointless affair.

Andrew Strauss always says the 'right' thing, and in truth any other approach would cause far too many problems given his position as captain. As such, nothing Strauss says through the media is likely to stir up anything other than a passive response from his team-mates. Conversely, Pietersen's exchanges with reporters are likely to be absorbed with as much interest by his colleagues as they are by the general public.

The harsh reality is that in just 3 months time England face a ressurgant and dangerous Australia side, and despite playing some good cricket in the Carribean, the performance level will need to undergo considerable improvement in order to recreate the euphoria of 2005. The fact is that Pietersen is "at the end of his tether" following three "soul destroying" months of defeats, and rightly, he wasn't going to hide it.

That Pietersen appears to treat every interview like a trip to his shrink is admittedly inadvisable, but perhaps he's not far off the mark with the odd montage of verbal punches. He's not the first in the history of cricket to aim them in the direction of the opposition, nor is he the first to angle a number at his own camp. Last week's interview echoed an even stronger outpouring of emotion from another iron-willed southern hemisphere batsman affectionately referred to by his initials.

In fact, Australia captain Allan Border went way further in a verbal tirade delivered during the Test Series of the 1986 New Zealand tour, when he told a wide-eyed press gathering that he was "leaving it up to them [his team] now."

Other choice phrases included, "I've given up speaking to them", "I've said everything that possibly can be said to this bunch" and, "They are going to show me if they really want to play for Australia and whether they really want to play under me."

It was remarkable, front page stuff, and makes Pietersen's comments look more suited to a village newsletter. AB outgunned KP. But what was even more remarkable, was the reaction of his teammates. Whilst the locker-room would have been a fascinating place to be as a tape of the interview was relayed to the stunned squad, on the pitch, they responded favourably in both the short and long term; squaring the subsequent ODI series, and going on to become a force in world cricket - and one which has grown from strength to strength.

Border's piercing honesty galvanised his team. He was justified by both the truth of his comments and his own standing as the team's best player. He felt, rightly, that not only were his colleagues failing to hit the heights he consistently achieved, but also that they were not allowing themselves to; not training hard enough, not paying the baggy green due respect. They were serious accusations, but founded on truths.

So too are Pietersen's comments. Strauss's England find themselves in a better position than Border's Australia, but they too face crunch time. Only total commitment, immaculate preparation and and an unrelenting will to win will ensure summer success. As Border did before him, Pietersen encapsulates such qualities and he's called upon his teammates to follow suit. Border's actions didn't do Australia any harm.