LONDON, (Reuters) – Maverick, innovator, game-changer, big-hitter, showman – accolades that Kevin Pietersen has lapped up ever since he decided to up sticks from his native South Africa and try his luck in England.
But when the axe fell on his decade-long England career following last winter’s 5-0 Ashes humiliation, everyone involved in the gentleman’s game knew that the one thing Pietersen was not capable of was staying tight-lipped.
A gagging order imposed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) might have kept waters calm for eight months but this week a tsunami of tales have been unleashed ahead of the launch of Pietersen’s biography – KP – with the explosive revelations matching his blistering batting style.
Tales of betrayal, back-stabbing, playground bullies, coaching tyrants and unfair dismissals span 317 gripping pages in the book and in the process have ripped the heart out of English cricket.
Pietersen accused former coach Andy Flower “of ruling by fear”, while team mates Matt Prior, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad were accused of bullying other members of the team.
But despite the abrupt ending to his career, with Pietersen claiming he was made a scapegoat for voicing concerns about the workings of the team, the 34-year-old has no regrets about his decision to represent England rather than the land of his birth.
Sporting a rainbow-coloured loom band made by “my boy” — his four-year-old son Dylan — on his right wrist and a black diamond pendant he bought in India around his neck, Pietersen sat down for a chat with Reuters to discuss why he is such a polarising figure.
And why the ECB “can’t have the maverick … who does extraordinary things on the field and then have a choir boy off it”.
REUTERS: Do you feel betrayed by England?
PIETERSEN: “No, no, no, I had an unbelievably amazing career. I don’t feel betrayed at all. It’s the only route I have known, here in England. An opportunity to come to England, to play professional cricket, I didn’t believe or realise that I’d end up with a career that I’ve had. I’ve lived the dream for years and years and years.
“It’s a question about betrayal because of some little patches where I’ve been unhappy and a few things that have gone wrong.
“But the majority of the time it’s been amazing. Absolutely amazing.
“I’ve played cricket all around the world. I’ve played at Lord’s, Surrey’s my home ground, I’ve played at all the South African grounds, the Indian grounds, the West Indian grounds, Sri Lankan grounds, the New Zealand grounds, the Australian grounds. You name it, I’ve been there.
“I’ve ticked all the boxes and I’ve won so many trophies with England. Why on earth would I sit here and say I have been betrayed? No chance.”
REUTERS: You are the highest run-scorer for England, you are known as an innovator in cricket with the switch hit and the public still rate you highly – was it simply a clash of personalities or jealousy or misunderstandings that caused things to go so wrong with your some of your England team mates?
PIETERSEN: “We’ll leave the team mates out of this for now and we’ll just talk about the coach (Flower). The coaching issue was a big issue. The coach didn’t like me. Coach wanted me out. At any opportunity that he got he would collect his notes and he’d eventually get me one day. It’s incredibly unfortunate that it ended the way it ended. But I had an amazing journey.”
REUTERS: But you’ve said in the book the team mates played a part in it.
PIETERSEN: “The team mates played a part in it because they were allowed to play a part in it. But a decent man manager, a decent coach would have sorted the situation out and none of this would ever have happened. If a great coach was in charge of England, none of this would have happened.”
REUTERS: What is your reaction to the leaked ECB document? Some of the accusations made against you are that:
*You disobeyed “express instructions” to not to stay out late before the Adelaide test.
*You were “looking to do anything to go home” if England lost the third test in Perth
*And that you made a number of disparaging comments that undermined team morale
PIETERSEN: “It’s embarrassing that a board can actually send stuff like that, leak it and then say no, no, no, no, no, no, no – it’s been copied and pasted and this and that. On social media you can see how it went down with the public, I’ve got no interest in commenting on it. It’s just one of them situations when you let the public decide for themselves.”
REUTERS: There have been numerous South-African born players who have represented England, why do you feel you polarise opinion so much?
PIETERSEN: (Loud sigh, takes a deep breath and stares at ceiling for a few seconds thinking about his answer) “I don’t know, I haven’t got a clue. It’s maybe the way that I played. Maybe the way I played the game. Maybe the weight of expectation that I carried every single time that I batted. So on days I was going to let people down and people were going to be so frustrated with me. On other days I was going to make people so happy with stuff that I did.