'Massive Trust Issue' Too Big To Overcome

From underneath his brown helmet at the non-striker's end, Kevin Pietersen watched forlornly as his Surrey team-mate, Matt Dunn, fended off a bouncer and was caught at short leg, bringing to an end Surrey's quite extraordinary first innings at the Kia Oval.

Pietersen turned around and unstrapped his gloves having been left stranded on 355 not out, two runs short of Surrey's county record. It was a knock which perfectly encapsulated Pietersen's memorable and contentious time in English cricket.

Leicestershire, desperately searching for their first county championship win in two and a half years, had Surrey at 51-2 when Pietersen strode to the wicket to join Sri Lankan stalwart Kumar Sangakkara. The former Sri Lankan captain, currently ranked the world's top Test Match Batsmen by the ICC, scored 36 (second top scorer) and became the first of Pietersen's partners to fall in the innings.

Kevin O'Brien looks on as Pietersen cuts through the off side

Pietersen - known simply as 'KP' by supporters and detractors alike - cut, swept and bludgeoned his way to a remarkable unbeaten 355 off 396 balls. Fortune favoured the brave KP when he was dropped four times as he belligerently clattered Leicestershire for 291 runs on Day Two of Second Division clash at the Oval. KP's phenomenal swash buckling amassed a personal total that many teams would have envied.

Pietersen came out swinging but his highest ever total proved futile

Monday May 11 2015 will go down as KP day as the South African-born batsmen unleashed his frustrations and aspirations on the hapless Leicestershire bowlers.

KP thought his England career had ended when he was cut from the team following England's disastrous 2013/2014 Ashes tour but he was seemingly thrown a life line by incoming England Cricket Board (ECB) Chairman, Colin Graves.

Colin Graves' comments saw Pietersen work hard to earn a recall

Graves, when asked about the 'KP Situation' in March, said: "If he wants to play for England then he has to play for a county. That is his decision. If he does that and then comes out and scores a lot of runs they can’t ignore him."

KP was set a task and he quickly looked to accomplish it. He postponed his plans to appear for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the T20 Indian Premier League and searched for a county team. 

Ironically, Leicestershire put their hand up but KP returned to his previous Surrey side and looked to ply his trade. A knock of 170 in a pre-season game against Oxford MCCU was followed by more modest scores which saw him amass 112 runs in the next four innings.

However, the stage was soon set for Showman KP to stake his claim for an England call-up at the very ground where he got his first England century.

Paul Downton, the man who swung the axe on Pietersen, had recently been replaced by Andrew Strauss as Director of Cricket and Strauss signaled the change by sacking team coach, Peter Moores. Reports that Strauss would be making an announcement to the media on Tuesday provided the impetus for KP to amass the sixth biggest innings ever in County Championship history.

 

Peter Moores was given his marching orders on Saturday

"What more can I do? I'm ready to play for England" KP declared as he came off the field on Monday at 326 not out and he was duly summoned to meet Strauss for a late night meeting where KP would learn his fate.

'You might be ready to play for England, but we aren't' was the message Strauss gave KP. Pietersen returned to the crease at the Oval the next morning and was left stranded once again.

His innings showed inspired batting, powered by guile, flamboyancy, bravado and sheer self-belief. These aspects of his personality have forever divided those around him.

Strauss has suffered many headaches from managing Pietersen

KP's past indiscretions have, according to Strauss, created a "massive trust issue" which now prevents Pietersen from playing for his adopted country once more.

So how can KP, arguably the world's greatest batsmen of his generation, not get a place in the England side? The answer doesn't lie in a Division Two County Championship match but in the divisions Pietersen has created for himself time and again.

Pietersen enters the world stage during the Ashes 2005 series

KP already had a divisive reputation when he came into the England set-up. Having left his country of birth over selection issues, Pietersen joined Nottinghamshire and his flamboyant technique soon led to an England One Day International (ODI) call-up. He replied to his South African detractors in style by scoring his maiden ODI century in the cauldron of Bloemfontein.

A Test call up beckoned for KP and he stamped his authority on the seminal 2005 Ashes which culminated in his match-saving innings of 158 that ensured England had won back the coveted urn for the first time in 16 years.

Pietersen and Strauss enjoying much happier times together

KP soon became an integral part of an England side which became the Number One Test ranked team in the world. His batting could change the course of a game within a session and he raced to 6,000 Test runs within six years.

He was handed the England captaincy but his stubborness soon clashed with team coach, Peter Moores, later described by KP as a "woodpecker". Their acrimonious break-up led to Strauss being given a long-awaited permanent captaincy and he was joined at the helm by coach Andy Flower.

Pietersen's 2014 autobiography gave the Zimbabwe-born coach the unfortunate sobriquet "Flower the Dour" and KP would soon hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A team of a mixture of personalities needs to work together and support one another and it was clear to see that the England dressing room was clearly divided in 2012.

Pietersen's private messages with a South African player were soon revealed

Modern day technology highlighted these divisions very publicly as a spoof Twitter account criticising KP was followed by his England team-mates. KP then shared instant messages with a South African player during the Test series between the two sides which bantered about Strauss being an "idiot". 

Pietersen was subsequently dropped and 'reintegrated' back into the England team in India where KP scored 186. The double Ashes series of 2013 proved to be KP's last in an England shirt as his temperament was hampered by a long term knee injury. KP was one of many to fall (by choice or not) in that Ashes whitewash series of 2013/2014 and Pietersen was seemingly in the wilderness.

Pietersen (right) enjoyed himself in Australia's Big Bash

KP is a box office player and he brought the punters in to see him play in T20 domestic series of the IPL and Australia's Big Bash. Pietersen was enjoying himself, particularly in Australia and this contrasted with the England team's disastrous second term under Peter Moores. 

A mixed 2014 summer saw England lose to Sri Lanka and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against India. England then went into one day mode in preparation for their disastrous Cricket World Cup and didn't play a Test series for over six months.

Surrey coach, Alec Stewart, was in the running for Director of Cricket

The drawn series in the Caribbean brought the end of Moores and the start of a new era. The appointment of Strauss as Director of Cricket over Surrey coach, Alec Stewart signified that KP's wait for an England call up would continue.

Since retiring from the England captaincy, Strauss has worked as a TV commentator and was covering the Bicentennial  MCC vs. Rest of the World match when he thought he was off mic and let slip a disparaging comment about Pietersen.

Pietersen's appearance for the MCC brought comments from Strauss

Strauss subsequently apologised and tried unsuccesfully to contact KP. He left Pietersen an answerphone message after KP missed the call. KP says in his autobiography that he was "disappointed" to miss the call and he had "never heard from him [Strauss] again."

That was until Monday. Strauss' decision has divided many and the reaction has waivered more towards disagreement but at least Strauss has made the decision. 

Strauss described his new role as "non-tracksuit"

Strauss, when explaining the decision, said that recalling KP wouldn't be in the best short-term interests for England. I disagree by saying an England recall wouldn't have been in the best long-term interests of the England team.

A revitalised Pietersen might help England reclaim the Ashes this summer but Trott's recent reintroduction to the team shows that England shouldn't hark back to past glories.

It is 10 years since that titanic Ashes battle in the golden summer of 2005 and Ian Bell is the only veteran from that series still playing. His place is also under threat if he underwhelms this summer.

Next England captain? The future looks brighter for Joe Root

Strauss also announced today that Joe Root will rightly be groomed as a future England captain by being awarded the vice-captaincy. Eoin Morgan will continue as ODI captain and hopefully James Taylor will also be made vice captain of the ODI team. It was refreshing to hear Strauss say that the Test and ODI squads should be separate, a fact that was plain to see with Ballance's failure at the World Cup.

Strauss offered somewhat of an olive branch to KP as he gave Pietersen the opportunity to advise him on the future of English cricket but KP has never been one to shine behind the camera and he refused.

Although Strauss has denied KP has been banned from the team, it's hard to see the soon-to-be 35 year old Pietersen returning to the England line-up. England's new Director of Cricket has now sent a clear message that no player is bigger than the team that we be built on honesty and integrity.

Will Cook and Gillespie be meeting more frequently?

The next item on Strauss' agenda will be to appoint the team coach and Jason Gillespie will be at the top of the list. The gritty Australian seamer, another veteran from the 2005 Ashes series, has led Yorkshire to the County Champions hip and he recently gave the Daily Telegraph an insight into his method of coaching:

"Firstly, identify the type of cricket you want to play, then the personnel. All cricket is about is how you can wrestle the initiative and put pressure on the opposition."

England have, of late, become timid and scared of their own shadow and Strauss will relish calling upon Gillespie's no-nonsense style that is similar to Darren Lehman. Lehman has transformed the Australian national side after taking over in 2013 when the team was in disarray.

KP's England future doesn't look as rosy. He will now take the field against Leicestershire and contemplate whether he will play again on an English cricket ground. IPL knockout stages now beckon for KP and any England failures this summer will leave many calling for his return.

Pietersen walks off the Oval and possibly away from English cricket

Yet there can be no doubt that, what ever KP does next, the headlines will follow.