Pietersen Falling Back In Love With Cricket

Twelve months ago Kevin Pietersen, by his own admission, had fallen out of love with cricket. Cast out as England captain in 2009 the South African-born star of his adopted country’s batting line up, hindered by injury and fatigue, looked a pale shadow of his former, swashbuckling self. There were many who feared we had already seen the best of the man.

Fast forward a year and the 31-year-old is in the form of his life having hit a double century in the Ashes-winning series down under in the winter, and followed that up with another double hundred and a “Daddy” century in the 4-0 whitewash of India this summer. More importantly the smile and the swagger, if a little more refined in his old age these days, is back. Wiser, and happy to play under the leadership of Andrew Strauss, Pietersen has declared that the lows and subsequent highs have been the making of him.

“It took me 18 months to get over the England captaincy debacle,” he admits. “I remember thinking when Michael Vaughan retired: “Who’s going to be captain now? I can’t take it. I’m not a captain.” The thing is you can never say no if it’s offered to you, can you? I resigned because I thought it was the best thing for English cricket and, if you look at where the team is now, you have to say it was right.”

England’s rise to the top was not overnight, though, and neither was Pietersen’s recovery. “For 18 months I had no interest in helping anybody on the pitch or off it,” he reveals. “I was not in a good place. It was a horrendous time for me. All I could think of was: “It should have been me.” My baby boy, Dylan, was born which was fantastic for me, although the sleep deprivation played its part too. Suddenly it was all about home, not cricket for me. I used to spend the morning playing with Dylan and then go off to play cricket sometimes with a heavy heart.”

Last autumn he went back home to Durban to spend some time with his family and oldest friends. “Nobody sat down with me, I worked it out for myself,” he explains. “I realised that the chance life was giving me was amazing and that I was doing what others would love to do. I looked at what my mates were up to and I realised I had to sort myself out. By the time the Ashes series came along I’d got everything out of my system and you can see that from last winter I haven’t looked back. I feel incredibly proud to have bounced back in the way I have. I’ve come out punching.”

It helps when he is a in a winning team of players who are all playing their part now and not relying quite so much on Pietersen to shine. “The expectation on my shoulders was a burden I liked as a challenge, but there’s no doubt playing for this team now, with the top three grinding down the bowlers to allow the likes of myself and Belly (Ian Bell) and Morgs (Eoin Morgan) and Matty Prior to have some fun, makes it more enjoyable. We have proper batsmen all the way down the order and with Graeme Swann and any three from five or six pace bowlers, we are a world-class unit that plays at a level of intensity greater than anybody else.”

He smiles. “Oh, and the captain is the right man for the job as well, of that there is no doubt. The job that Andrew Strauss and the team management have done has been incredible. When I was captain the team I was playing in were very unhappy. Now I’m just playing my game, lending any advice as a senior player and enjoying being in a fantastic place with the England team.”

Would he consider the job again if the captaincy was ever offered? “That won’t happen because when Strauss steps down Alistair Cook is ready, he’s matured and he’s done a great job for us, and Stuart Broad got the Twenty20 gig. English cricket’s in safe hands.

“But I’m planning to play on for another four or five years, which will incorporate another couple of Ashes series, and the world test championships in 2013. I’d hope to pass the English record of hundreds set at 22 (by Geoff Boycott, Wally Hammond and Colin Cowdrey) but I’d also expect Bell, Strauss and Cook to do the same. Unless something goes badly wrong Cook will become the leading English runs scorer of all time, and set a mark that will take a long time to better.”

So what now? Contrary to reports this week Pietersen, although taking the one day series against India which started yesterday off, has not played his last game until Pakistan in the middle east next January. He plans to play in two Twenty20 games against the West Indies later this month, and in a one day series in India in October before then heading back to Durban to recharge the batteries before a 2012 that features tests in the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka then India, as well as home series against the Windies and South Africa.    

“There’s no doubt that England’s success is also partly down to the fact that the players are rested when they can,” he explains. “International cricket can be a constant slog. I think India have got to that point now. The demands on the top players, especially if they play all three forms of international cricket, are immense. Maybe that’s why we haven’t quite got there yet in one day cricket. But we’re working on it.”

Kevin Pietersen smiles again. It’s good to see the confidence back. For all the runs amassed by the other English batsmen a successful Pietersen still means a successful England.   

Philips Male Grooming Brings You Closer To Kevin Pietersen’ takes place on September 19th at London’s Soho Hotel. If you would like to attend this live Q&A visit www.facebook.com/philipscloserto For more information on Philips Grooming ranges visit www.philips.co.uk.

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