Bobji, Author at Cricket Critique

Pietersen and the final chapter

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

The next chapter in the Kevin Pietersen autobiography is Pietersen and the final chapter

On the way to Sydney, before the final Test, Pietersen asked Broad about Flower. Broad told him that Flower hasn’t spoken to him for 3 weeks. How come? Broad was the only saving grace of the tour and yet, Flower did not talk to him. Broad had problems with Prior too because of Prior’s endless negativity. Having been reintegrated, Pietersen conducted himself well. Even Swann admitted that. Writing in his column Swann wrote that “Kevin made a huge effort to improve his attitude around the dressing room. I saw or heard no issues with him in Australia. His approach was exceptional”.

He got a message from Flower asking him to meet. Pietersen had to wait at the lobby for Flower to pick him up because the security system was such that he could not directly go to his room. As soon as they reached the floor, Flower told KP that he was disappointed him and demanded to know who else was Pietersen talking to. Was Pietersen trying to remove Flower from his role?

Final poke at Flower

Flower has seen how Pietersen trains. He trained bloody hard despite all the injuries and countless injections on his knee. He practised harder than anybody else, asking the coaching staff to throw from a few feet away to help him play bouncers better. Yet, he never gave any credit to KP but was happy to take the credit whenever Pietersen performs. Pietersen felt that Flower must have seen KP talk to Cook, who had just given a fitness talk to a team who were 0-4 down and were annihilated. Pietersen told Cook that it was a wrong speech at the wrong time.

Morever, the F Flower was from Prior during the players meeting and not from him. Pietersen told Flower to his face that he has created a team that is afraid of anyone and everything. They are afraid to tell anything to Flower whereas he does not fear Flower. It was a bold enough talk that Flower wasn’t amused.

Probably, the seed for Pietersen’s eventual removal was laid during that meeting. Flower was a master in getting alongwith the powers who matter. He influenced Giles Clarke, David Collier and Paul Downton to somehow find a reason to remove him from the team. So much so that Pietersen’s habit of whistling was also called into question. He used that habit to relieve the tension but it was construed as he never cared about playing for England. It was utterly ridiculous.

Wrapping up Pietersen and the final chapter

Towards the end of the autobiography, KP reminisces about some of the players he played with. He paid full tributes to the likes of Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuvaraj Singh, Brett Lee, Gilchrist and a host of others. There was one more twist to the tale or rather one more humiliation his way, courtesy the ECB. The MCC wanted him to play for them in a game against the rest of the world to celebrate 200 years of MCC. The ECB did not approve and the MCC were almost forced to make Pietersen withdraw from the game. ECB realised that the invite was already sent and accepted. So they had to agree.

Life after being out of the England team remind good for Pietersen. Did he miss playing for England? He certainly did. He would have given anything to play for England again, to travel, to put on that Three Lions. Alas, it never materialised. There was a short period, when I think it was Colin Graves, when he became the Chairman of the ECB, he expressed the opinion that he would like to have Pietersen play for England again. Pietersen who was away in India at that point, playing in the IPL, immediately spoke to the franchise and got himself released. He went to play in County cricket in the hope that the England call would come but it never did.

Autobiography

Pietersen and the final breakdown

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

The next chapter in the Kevin Pietersen autobiography is Pietersen and the final breakdown

Just after the 1^st Test, Andy Flower, shook Pietersen’s hands and told him that he was right. Flower must have listened to him. It came as a shock for Pietersen. Flower tells him that he was correct. What was the reason? Well, for sometime Pietersen has been observing Trott who was not himself. He needed support and quickly at that. Trott had anxiety and stress related issues. KP begged with Flower that whatever the rules are there for the rest, let the family of Trott join him from the beginning. It was refused. Johnson has been tormenting him with the short pitch deliveries so brutally that it left Trott nervous. It all came to the fore when Trott left the tour after the first Test.

The pressure for the English players both from outside and inside was enormous. Flower did not manage that well enough. Any tour to Australia is tough and Flower did not help things by making it tougher. Trott had to escape cricket and not the other way around. Pietersen is angry that the system let Trott down instead of looking after him. Pietersen knew, Ashley Giles knew that Trott was under serious breakdown. This essentially means that Flower too would have known. He needed help when he was at his lowest. Instead, he was left to fend for himself.

The series done and dusted

Then, Pietersen talks about his method towards batting. He plays by instinct. If the ball is there to be hit, he will hit it. It does not matter whether it goes away for a 6 or he gets caught in the deep. That is how he plays the game. The Adelaide Test arrived but KP wasn’t feeling that good with the bat. He took one of the coaches to the nets and batted for about 45 minutes. During that period, he was subjected to all sorts of abuses by the spectators who were allowed to see the players practise.

This is how it works in Australia. With the series done and dusted within 14 days, the mood within the English camp was one of disillusionment. A team that had high hopes before going to Australia, were suddenly awaken from their slumber and been ruthlessly tormented by an Australian side that wanted revenge.

Pietersen was the highest scorer for England. During the series, he also brought up the 8000^th run of his career which Cook wanted to celebrate as every milestone by every member is celebrated. However, Flower did not like it. After the Perth Test, with the series lost, Swann retired right in the middle of the series. He was ineffective. Prior to that, Steven Finn was told in public that he was not selectable. Pietersen laments how a youngster with high pace can be told that he was not selectable? Whose fault was it? Wasn’t it that of Flower who failed to ensure that he justified his talent? The pressure he applied was too much to bear.

The decisive meeting

Just before the last Test, with England 0-4 down, Cook called for a team meeting. Players only. Cook started the meeting and Prior took over. Cook had this problem of communication and it was amplified by Swann who sort of snored whenever Cook made a mistake. This made him uncomfortable. Bell was the vice-captain but not a big talker. Cook had a liking for Prior and Pietersen’s open rebellion against Prior was what terminated their relationship. Anyway, Prior told in the meeting that the team environment was horrible. He also faulted Flower for creating an atmosphere of pressure and tension. Prior said that this must be changed and opened the floor to everyone.

Pietersen immediately got up and said that this was exactly what he has been saying all along. Several players agreed with him. It wasn’t something that he has not said before. He has told Flower the samething directly to his face. The meeting took 30 minutes. Pietersen spoke, few others spoke, Panesar was shot down immediately by Prior. What version would be taken back to Flower by Cook and Prior was the question but KP wasn’t worried. Pietersen felt that what he said needed to be said. Prior was dropped after the 3^rd Test and some players like Vaughan were of the opinion that Pietersen must be the vice-captain. There were also talks about removing Cook from captaincy which must have troubled Cook because Pietersen writes that Cook must have felt if Pietersen becomes the vice-captain, he could well become the captain. What will be his position then?

Wrapping up Pietersen and the final breakdown

This was the final straw between KP and Prior. As soon as the series ended, both of them stopped talking to each other. Pietersen accused Prior of running a media campaign to stop him from becoming the vice-captain. Prior retorted that it was Pietersen who always stabbed him, Prior, in the back and did not care about playing for England. He also accused him of creating problems for him by using Pietersen’s friend Piers Morgan. With that both of them said goodbye to each other.

Autobiography

Pietersen and confronting abuse

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

The next chapter in the Kevin Pietersen autobiography is Pietersen and confronting abuse

With the reintegration complete but things were not that great in the England dressing room. The on-field abuse continued. The Big Cheese, as Matt Prior likes to call himself, was at it. If it was one of the little cheese, the protected ones, absolute silence. For example, in India, Anderson misfielded of Finn’s bowling allowing Tendulkar, who had been under pressure following a string of low scores, to get off the mark. Prior did not say anything because Anderson was the little cheese. Just that period, The Big Cheese got a fat Big Bash contract and he just couldn’t stop talking about it. Let me take the small section from the book verbatim because it is hilarious.

Then the Big Cheese got a Big Bash contract in Australia. The Big Cheese down under – exactly what the world wanted. For the last week at the end of the Test series in India he’s talking exclusively about the Big Bash in the dressing room. Cheese is talking about how Cheese’s sponsor is going to change the colour of Cheese’s equipment to match Cheese’s Big Bash team colours. He says Cheese will be flying to Australia on Christmas Day to go and play in the Big Bash.

Flower was impotent to stop the abuse

Pietersen confronted Flower over the behaviour of Prior. He basically wasn’t amused by the hypocrisy of Flower. On the onehand, KP was admonished for talking about IPL whereas on the otherhand, Prior kept on talking about the Big Bash right in the middle of the game. Flower for his part, never really reprimanded or even warned Prior for his outrageous behaviour. Prior’s close relationship with Flower helped him in a great way. Whatever he did, no one could question him. When the England team went to New Zealand, The Big Cheese insisted on taking his bike (bicycle) with him. It was stupid because you would rent bikes in New Zealand just like back home in England.

His shenanigans ever increased during the tour. Flower did not have anything to say. Instead, he told another player after KP had left the tour because of a knee injury, that he left so that he can claim the IPL insurance. It seemed that Flower & Prior loathed the sight of Pietersen in the dressing room. More than anything, it was the double standards that Pietersen could never accept. Prior was treated differently to the same perceived offence when compared to him. For this, Flower needs to take a lot of blame.

The 2013 Ashes series

England and Australia had just finished an Ashes series in England when they were slated to meet again in 6 months in Australia. The English media always judged an English side based on how they performed in Australia. Flower for his part, became ever more rigid and tight in his thinking. The freedom that was given to the players during the previous tours, was missing this time. Flower sought to control everything about every player. The pre-series training camp was a nightmare. They were all sent to a town in Midlands for some sort of army level training. It was supposed to create bonding between the players but ended up boring them.

One of the player, having had enough, left the team altogether. As soon as they reached Australia, they were in a lockdown. Flower did not allow the younger players, including Ben Stokes, to go out at all. KP confronted Flower about this but to no avail. Just before the first Test at the Gabba, which was Pietersen’s 100^th Test, the ECB gave him a silver cap but the name was written as Pieterson. Hence, he asked one of the player to send it back to the ECB to get it corrected. However, at the end of the Test, the cap was returned to him with a strike through O. It showed the lack of respect and resentment that ECB had towards Pietersen.

The newly christened Johnson and wrapping up Pietersen and confronting abuse

Turning back to the Ashes, a brand new Johnson turned up at The Gabba. Fast, intimidating and accurate Johnson. England did not have an idea until they saw Trott face a brute of a delivery from Johnson that hit his head. It got everyone worried. Immediately, Pietersen asked Mushtaq Ahmed to go with him to the nets and bowl bumpers at him for 30 minutes. Johnson was in his element. Usually, he does not mind a chat with Pietersen but this time, he didn’t say a word. Michael Clarke used him brilliantly. He did not give him more than 4 overs in a spell which kept Johnson fresh throughout the day. It meant that he never became tired and was fast in spell after spell he bowled.

Johnson got into the minds of the English players. They knew that they were in for a shellacking on the tour. The England bowlers feared going out to the middle. It says a lot about how brutal and devastating was Johnson. Johnson was a weapon against whom England did not have an answer. They were truly and well cooked for the series in that first game itself. If Johnson was menacing, Ryan Harris moved the ball at high pace which added to the misery of the English batsmen.

Autobiography

Pietersen and his disillusionment

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

The next chapter in the Kevin Pietersen autobiography is Pietersen and his disillusionment.

At this point, PIETERSEN had fallen out with everybody, the team, the coach and the ECB. He was left out of the England squad for the tour of India. He was also denied the central contract and dropped from the T20 World Cup squad despite making himself available for all the 3 formats. However, he went to Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup as a commentator which the ECB tried their best to block. Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman wanted Pietersen to be in the team to India because the series was huge by any standard. A series loss would have meant personal for Clarke. Inorder to avoid that he needed to sell it to Andy Flower who was adamant not to include KP. Now, KP had to be reintegrated.

Flower had one condition. KP must talk to every player individually and explain himself. Actually, he must beg for their forgiveness which KP disliked but since playing for England was close to his heart, he agreed to do that. The Champions League was underway in South Africa where Pietersen was playing for the Delhi Daredevils. He flew to England and then back to South Africa all within 3 days. In the meantime, he met the players, the coach and the captain, Cook at a hotel in Oxford.

The meeting

The first meeting was with Andy Flower to whom KP asked some pertinent questions like the James Taylor leak and asked him how can he trust him again. Flower did not answer. Afterwards, Flower would fetch the players one-by-one to whom KP had to apologise. KP took all of that in his stride for his burning desire of playing for England again. Pietersen wondered whether anyone else would think about the reasons for the breakdown in relations. Whether Flower did anything to condone the person who was behind the parody Twitter account. He just could not fathom the irony of it all. Others who had tweeted and re-tweeted from his parody account, Swann describing him as a horrible captain etc, going scot-free whereas he had to sit through a humiliation.

He had one satisfaction in the end, of beating Andy Flower in his own game. KP thought that Flower would have hoped that KP would not come over from South Africa and put himself through such horrendous process but the fact that KP turned up and went through the annihilation without saying anything must have made Flower sad. Another instance that KP narrates was that he went to the house of Strauss to apologise to him personally after Strauss played his last game. He was sincere in his efforts and apologised to Strauss for marring his final Test and that he never mentioned anything to the South Africans about his batting but must have supported him because Strauss was the captain. He also apologised to his wife.

The reintegration

The reintegration process started and KP was back in the team for the tour to India. He did whatever was asked without sulking. The onething he hated was team meetings where the same things were said again and again. On the tour to India, Flower asked KP to meet him once a week to ensure that they were insync. KP wanted these sessions to be more than just going through the motions. It is not that KP never found Flower useful. Infact, he has dedicated an entire paragraph going into how Flower helped him improve his technique when he was scoring 50s and 60s. Flower used to point to the innings that KP played against Australia in 2006 and suggested improvements. Now, though, Flower was caught up in a power struggle and things went downhill.

Anyway, back at Oxford, KP did not meet with Broad. Now, he met him in Mumbai and immediately confronted him about the Twitter page. Broad was evasive and said that he didn’t have any idea until later in the series. Piers Morgan, a good friend of Pietersen, pieced together the entire Tweets and found that it originated at Broad’s house one evening while Broad was there. Kevin wanted to put an end to everything and start afresh which he did. When Cook first took over, he wanted to put an end to all the internal bullying. Prior, Swann & Broad would shout at the fielders whenever there was a misfield. Prior was the worst of them. It stopped for a time being but crept up again in India.

Wrapping up Pietersen and his disillusionment

KP confronted Prior during the series but it did not make things better. Prior became the vice-captain after Broad left the tour because of an injury and it went to his head. He just wouldn’t change. The Indian tour was a success from both a personal point of view and the team’s point of view. That one innings at Mumbai will be spoken forever by those who have seen that innings. After the series, Prior tweeted with a picture of KP, “reintegration complete. Well played”. Prior also told the Daily Mail that it was his phone call to Pietersen that paved the way for reintegration. He also said that during such a tough tour as India, Kev knew where to go and in which restaurants to eat. These small things are vital during such tours. Kevin however realised that the calm before the storm erupts.

Autobiography

Pietersen and the textgate

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

The next chapter in the Kevin Pietersen autobiography is Pietersen and the textgate.

The Textgate. This will go down as Pietersen’s biggest blunder. As news caught on that KP had texted some of his South African friends during the series, Andy Flower, Andrew Strauss and Hugh Morris called him for a meeting. They asked him whether he texted the South Africans. Since, Kevin did not trust them, he said no. Later, that evening, the ECB asked KP to conduct a press briefing that he did not text the South Africans. KP said he would not because he did text them. KP was of the opinion that the ECB knew this and probably were waiting for KP to deny it so that he could be shown his place.

Flower insisted that KP release a press statement but KP again refused. He was suspicious about the long-term gameplan of the trio. Strauss asked him to admit it but all KP could tell him was that he did send messages but nothing controversial except for one where he did not defend the captain.

What happened?

After Pietersen scored 149 in one of the innings, one South African cricketer, sent a message to him on BBM – Blackberry Messenger – congratulating his innings. Earlier that day, when these two were talking while having something to eat, Strauss walked past them and did not even acknowledge them. This somewhat irked the South African who said that Strauss acted like a doos. PIETERSEN says that in South African it meant idiot and nothing close to an unparliamentary word. The English press didn’t think like that and they thought this was a cuss word. This was the jist of the textgate.

The English press hinted that Pietersen had let the South Africans know how to get Strauss out which he insists anyone playing in the second division league will know how to get him out. It is not rocket science. Pietersen is adamant that he would never give away tactical information to the opposition even if they are friends.

Friendship matters

PIETERSEN felt that Strauss and Flower somehow want to get rid of him. If he can release a press statement denying that he texted the South Africans, by discrediting him later, he can be dropped from the team forever. He was dropped for the 3^rd Test at Lord’s for indiscipline and insubordination. Both Strauss and Flower did not want PIETERSEN to talk to the South Africans though they were friends. They wanted him to maintain an ambivalence towards them. It irked Pietersen who simply refused to do so. Some of the South Africans were his friends far longer than anyone in the England team.

He gives the example of the camaraderie between him and Steyn. Back in the series in 2012, when England were discussing how to handle Steyn, PIETERSEN goes out and nonchalantly, lofted him over long-off for a 6. Steyn just smiled at him because they were friends by playing in the IPL. Steyn will not smile at others in England because he does not know them. This sort of creates friction in the dressing room and makes the others think that Pietersen is not serious while playing for England. This PIETERSEN insists is nonsense because out in the field, he always wants to win. Friends or not.

The parody Twitter account

Who was running the parody Twitter account? It turns out that it was Richard Bailey, a close friend of Stuart Broad. He must have received all the information from Broad himself. Bailey told this to Alec Stewart who inturn told Pietersen and Hugh Morris. An investigation was never ordered. Broad had earlier told PIETERSEN that he never knew about the account and that he had no part in creating the account. PIETERSEN suspects, he may not have been involved in creating the account but was he involved in the actual tweets? Stuart Broad’s friend creates the parody account, which Broad follows but Broad never discusses with his friend who he thinks is a social network genius? That does not add up. The ECB chose to accept Broad’s denial and Bailey’s apology and ended the investigation without any serious methods to get to the bottom of the truth.

Wrapping up Pietersen and the textgate

PIETERSEN could not understand the double standards. A parody account ridiculing a fellow teammate and what was followed by several team members and by the wider public was treated as nothing more than a nuisance but a harmless text to a friend was seen as diabolical. PIETERSEN’s dislike for Flower reached a crescendo when Flower didn’t allow some of the players to attend a charity event that was arranged by Pietersen to support his friend who was dying from a rare form of cancer. He disliked the English dressing room and would rather be somewhere else than in the dressing room.

Autobiography

Pietersen and controversies

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

The next chapter in Pietersen’s autobiography is Pietersen and controversies.

KP starts this chapter with the 2012 tour of Sri Lanka. Prior to the start of the 2^nd Test, KP practiced exhaustively against the local net bowlers. With the weather being so hot in Sri Lanka alongwith it being humid, if at all KP has to score a hundred in that country, it needs to be quick because he is someone who sweat profusely. He just cannot grind in the middle because of that. Long story short, he scored a brilliant 151, not to mention it was quick too. At the end of the Sri Lankan series, KP spoke to Andy Flower about being rested for some of the games.

It is true that England do play a lot of Test matches but white-ball cricket is pretty much restricted. Infact, it is much less than what the Indians play. KP, being KP, asked Flower to rest him from certain games because he did not have the energy to play in every game. As usual, he came out of that meeting disappointed and depressed.

Come on, KP, just look at the Indians and analyse the number of games the Indian team plays. He admits that people would ask him to give up IPL but it is a fact that the players earn a lot of money in the IPL. I am all for it. The career of a sportsperson is too limited. If someone is lucky enough and good enough, he can play till the late 30s. Not everyone can achieve that. They have a family to support and a future to take care of. These sportspeople, do not know anything apart from the game. It is only fair they make as much as they can during their career.

The multiple outbursts

KP loved IPL and loved playing in India. He is also certain that there are players in the England dressing room who envy him and given a chance, they will jump at the opportunity of playing in the IPL. He only played half of the games for Delhi Daredevils and was off to England for a Test series against the West Indies. During the course of one of the Tests, he went to the dressing room and started to watch the Delhi game instead of watching the England game. He admits that he is embarrassed to think of it now and he should never have done that. Around the sametime, he got into another controversy where he questioned the commentary of Nick Knight. KP says that the whole England dressing room found Knight boring but he somehow managed to join the commentary group. Even Flower did not like Knight’s commentary.

However, it was KP alone who tweeted or rather questioned the choice of Nick Knight as the commentator. ECB was aghast and so was SkySports. They had a multi-million, multi-year contract. Sky told ECB that none of the players is allowed to question the commentator. ECB not wanting to jeopardise the relationship, fined KP 3000 GBP and a further 5000 GBP for future offences. This made Pietersen wonder what ECB did when Swann lambasted KP in his book. How was that alright for a fellow player to criticise another player in the team but not for him to question the commentator?

One more request to the ECB

Before the start of summer 2012, KP again went back to the ECB and requested them to release him from a few games citing workload. He gives a long list of the games that England were supposed to play that year. ECB refused which demoralised KP who announced his retirement from ODI cricket immediately.

ECB told him that he needs to play in both ODI and T20 or none at all. Hence, KP chose to retire. He didn’t contemplate to retire from Tests and concentrated only on IPL because playing for England, which has given him everything, was the pinnacle. The press and the media treated him unfairly for making his displeasure known. KP contrasts the attitude of the ECB with that of New Zealand cricket who have given their players a 5 weeks window in May to play in the IPL.

KP Genius

Back in 2012, just before the South African series, a new Twitter account, KP Genius gained prominence. It was run by none other than his teammates from inside the dressing room. Most of the tweets were insults or snide remarks about KP. This made him desolate and he contemplated retiring from the game altogether. He stopped talking to his teammates. When Andy Flower pulled him aside and asked him for the reason, KP completely broke down in front of him and said that he did not want to play for a team that did not respect him. This was understandable.

He cites the example of why he didn’t want James Taylor in the team and it should have been Eoin Morgan. Morgan refused to play in County when he was away in India despite Flower’s diktat. This angered Flower who picked Taylor instead of Morgan. Taylor wasn’t good enough against the bowling attack of South Africa. To prove KP correct, he was never picked again. KP made his observation to the coach in the dressing room.

Wrapping up Pietersen and controversies

Throughout his career, some bits and pieces about him have been leaked. Some by the ECB, some by the dressing room. It was really unfortunate. Towards the end of the series in 2012, he has had enough. He wanted to stop and he told the same to a few people which got down to the press. He addressed a press conference after scoring 149 which did not go well for him because in that press conference he mentioned about the dressing room environment though he stopped short of going into the details. In hindsight, he must have refused to address the press conference when his mind wasn’t clear. It is a shame that the one who created the KP Genius page was not punished for ridiculing and insulting a teammate in public and for others to follow that account.

Autobiography

Pietersen and The Big Cheese

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

The next chapter in Pietersen’s autobiography is Pietersen and The Big Cheese. Who was The Big Cheese? Let’s find out.

KP was playing for Surrey where his performance and confidence did not improve. KP insists that if only there had been an empathetic coach, his problems could have been sorted. Again, he expects sort of a father figure in the dressing room of an international sports team. He went and played for Natal in South Africa where Graham Ford took him under his wings. Ford, told him that he was still a great batsman and he was able to pick up the flaws within a few balls. Again, KP needed someone to tell him that he was a great batsman. Why would he want that? He wasn’t a child anymore. Anyway, let me continue. Ford told him that his head wasn’t where it must be. It must be closer to the ball. After he met with Ford, his game improved and he felt confident.

Ashes 2011 in Australia where England have not won a series since 1986. First Test at Brisbane, his returns were modest. Out yet again to Peter Siddle whom he hates to bat against because Siddle was patience personified who kept the ball at the same line and length without trying too much, trying to work on the temperament of the batsman. Second Test at Adelaide, KP was at his best with 227 and the wicket of Michael Clarke to boot. His first century in over 20 months. A load off his back with England leading 1-0. Third Test, Johnson back in the team, he blows England away rather quickly. The series was tied 1-1. Fourth Test, England won handsomely with a little contribution from Pietersen. This is where he writes about how annoying Matt Prior was.

Matt Prior and his childishness

Prior for some reason, began to call himself The Big Cheese. His shouting in the dressing room grew louder and louder. Big Cheese had a wonderful day. Big Cheese bought these clothes or Big Cheese did these things. Something to that effect. On the field, Prior sledged his team rather than the opposition. He sort of became the leader of abuse and took a special liking when he was told that he was the heartbeat of the team, the voice of the dressing room.

Prior kept talking about himself on and on and on. Yet, KP was unable to understand why he, Pietersen was labelled as someone with a bigger ego. Prior according to him was the biggest egoistic person in that dressing room. The 5^th Test was won and with that the Ashes. The following ODIs were just a blur for the entire England team because they had already won the ultimate prize.

It was around this time, Pietersen started to face a unique phenomenon. He was being isolated within the dressing room with occasional sly comments about his IPL money etc. KP insists that he is a private person and that he longs to be with his family whenever he can. He liked to be left alone whenever there isn’t any need of him. Perhaps, Pietersen found calm and peace when he was alone. This was construed differently by the English players.

The audacity of the bowlers

The ODI In India was about to start where he spoke to Flower to stop this isolation. It was between him, Flower and Strauss. Pietersen told them that the onfield abuse of their own players must stop immediately. At this stage, Anderson, Broad, Prior and Swann joined the conversation. They said that it was well within their rights to be angry towards a fielder whenever he messes up. The fielder must apologise to the bowler. Now, this is just ridiculous. If a fielder needs to apologise to the bowler if he misfields or drops a catch, there will not be a single game where any fielder would not have to go through this. This was insane. For such senior bowlers to insist, it showed how rotten the English dressing got during those days.

Hernia, Flower and the deceit

At the World Cup, KP was injured and it was found that he had a hernia. He was hardly able to run. A decision was taken to send him home and have the surgery. It was taken by Andy Flower. However, Flower to the media told to the effect that this was a known problem and that he expected Pietersen to play through the pain. KP felt completely letdown and told Flower so because it was Flower’s decision to send him home. His first series upon his return, against Sri Lanka wasn’t that great. He scored one 50 and in that Test, Matt Prior, who he calls Big Cheese, came into the dressing room and broke the window out of sheer rage. Strauss the captain defended Prior stating that since Prior keeps his kit near the window, the bat must have bounced off of other bats and hit the window.

Wrapping up Pietersen and The Big Cheese

KP then goes onto his preparation before his turn to bat. I will not go into the details of it. One thing he also insists is that when people ask him why did he play such a horrendous shot to get out while batting well, he never could explain. For him, if he sees a ball, he needs to hit it. That is how he liked to bat. A thousand things run through his mind while the bowler is at the top of his mark. Which way was he holding the ball? What is he trying to do? Would he like to swing the ball?

All of these within the 3-4 seconds before the ball is delivered. When he sees a ball that is within his striking ability, he goes with his instinct. It has succeeded and it has also failed. When he sees a spinner, he thinks to himself to hit him out of the park but a moment later, when he walks back to the pavilion, he admonishes himself.

Pietersen and County cricket

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

This is the fifth part of the Kevin Pietersen’s autobiography.

Just before the T20 World Cup in 2009, England ended up playing more than 10 Tests with a handful of ODIs. Kevin was terribly tired. Anyway, during the World Cup, England qualified for the semi-finals but KP had to leave the tour for just a day to be with his wife who was about to give birth. Some players were grumpy about it. This is a surprise because I see English and Australian players go back to their country to be with their wives before the birth of a child. Anyway, Pietersen went back to South Africa within a day and was instrumental in England winning the World T20. He was the player of the tournament. His cricket took a backseat as soon as he reached England because now it was all about the child.

Though he was the man of the series at the World Cup, his Test form wasn’t that great. He hadn’t scored a 100 in a longtime and was afraid that he was about to be dropped. When the scores from the Pakistan series was meagre, ECB decided to drop him. Flower, says KP, was very happy. KP asked Flower whether he would inform the media that he was dropped or was he rested? Flower casually told him that we would tell them that you are dropped. Well, KP, if your form wasn’t that good, it was alright to be dropped. That evening, he sent a text message to Warne abusing the ECB but it wasn’t a text message but a Tweet from the Blackberry.

The criticisms

Geoff Miller, the selection committee chairman wasn’t amused and he demanded an apology. Anyway, KP was dropped. Hampshire, with whom Kevin had some animosity wasn’t willing to allow him to play for them so that he could regain form. Next comes Graeme Swann’s comments. “Kevin is a world-class player but he upsets people wherever he goes”. Kevin believes that Swann did not see where he was coming from. Born in South Africa, KP was a spinner to begin with and not that good with the bat. He practised with his friend in South Africa to improve his cricket. Slowly, he became a better batsman when Clive Rice saw him. He invited him to play in the English league.

Now, he had to choose because Ali Bacher the President of Cricket South Africa did not assure him of his future in South African cricket. Hence, he chooses the England offer. Having done that, he criticised the South African system which didn’t allow for talent to come through. KP regrets what he said. Back then, at 20, he looked at his situation alone and did not account for what South African cricket and the country in general was trying to do. Of giving the blacks and the coloured an opportunity. Then, he talks about his Nottinghamshire days. Clive Rice was the coach who took him under his wing and told him that he would bat at number 6 throughout the season and that he needed KP to score lots of runs. KP felt delighted because this was the sort of confidence booster he was looking for.

The County season

In the first season, he scored bucketload of runs but season 2 wasn’t that great. Again, he was among the runs in season 3 but the County was relegated to Division 2. Some of the players did not mind that so long as they got their pay but KP disliked that attitude. He wanted to challenge himself among the best and the best were in Division 1. Hence, he told the Nottinghamshire captain that he would leave. The captain was furious and threw the kit out of the balcony. He stayed with Richard Logan who became a good friend. Around this time, the requirement of 4 years residency permit to stay in England was about to be completed and if KP could score consistently, he could be picked for England.

He continued with Notts and again scored a lot of runs. The County was promoted to Division 1. The County then told everyone that a new contract would be made available to everyone but when his friend Logan did not get the contract, KP had enough and decided to leave. He chose to support his friend who looked after him in the initial years when he had nowhere to go. It was then Shane Warne asked him to join Hampshire where he was the captain. KP liked the offer and he agreed. His friend Logan was also picked by Hampshire. This is where is he reveals that his friendships last. He and Logan are still best friends and so are Ashely Giles, Simon Jones and Shane Warne. KP does not mind antagonising others if it means supporting his friends.

Wrapping up Pietersen and County cricket

Onto Hampshire. Why did he leave Hampshire? It wasn’t because of any feud with the County or any of the players. It was just that he hardly played for Hampshire. In 3 years, he played only 6 games for Hampshire. They mutually parted ways. All of these was in response to Swann’s comment. He was picked for the ODI team in the series in South Africa where the treatment meted out to him by the spectators was raw. He was abused everywhere. Vaughan who was the captain, told his players that any South African player who abuses Pietersen will get in return 10 times to that effect. Then, he was in the Ashes squad of 2005.

Pietersen and Rahul Dravid

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

This is the fourth chapter in the Pietersen autobiography series. Pietersen and Rahul Dravid.

KP is all praise for IPL as the chapter starts. He developed a lot of friendships in the IPL. Someone whom he didn’t liked earlier, has now become a good friend. He insists that just for the friendships, he would play in the IPL for free. That was how much he liked IPL. KP was given a lot of suggestions during the IPL about his game. This is where is waxes praise for someone whom he considers his guru, Rahul Dravid. In this autobiography, KP has revealed the advise Dravid gave him. I would like to quote verbatim from the autobiography.

Rahul’s email

Champ,

I’ll start with a disclaimer. I have not batted against the two of them and also have not been able to watch any of the cricket in this series. So, if some of what I say makes no sense or is not relevant or practical against these two just ignore. As we know, giving advice is easy, but until you have actual experience it’s hard to get a real feel of what’s the correct way.

They do bowl quicker and if the tracks have been turning then it’s always going to be a challenge for anyone.

Against guys who bowled a bit quicker [and I grew up with playing Anil] I would look to go forward without committing or planting the front foot. What can happen is we look to go forward which is correct but because we are so keen to get forward and not get trapped on the back goot sometimes you can plant that front foot too early. It sends the timings all wrong and forces your bat to come down too quickly [because once your foot is planted it is a signal for your brain to deliver the bat] resulting in you pushing at it rather than letting it come to you.

Also then if it turns you are more liable to follow the ball rather than holding your line and letting it spin past. [Nobody counts how often you get beaten]. Also, that result in what we call hard hards, which is nothing but pushing out. If your transfer of weight brings your bat down then that’s perfect because it always puts the bat in the right place. [I have infact struggled a bit with that in Aus as my timing has been a bit off and had led to me pushing out at ball and created a gap between bat and pad]. That’s te bummer with timing – it’s impossible to teach or train.

Anyway, all this stuff is happening in the subconscious and you can’t think about it.

You can practise a few things though – in the nets try and pick up length from the bowler’s hand, that will force you to watch it closely. Look to go forward but recognise that a lot of the scoring opportunities are off the back foot, so while you’re looking to go forward you are not committing, the keyword is looking, you are ready to rock back and pick up some runs if you can.

One good practice is to bat against Swann and Monty without pads or with just knee pads [maybe not a day before a game]. When you have no pads it will force you sometimes painfully, to get the bat forward of the pads and will force you to watch the ball. Also the leg will be less keen to push out without any protection. My coach would tell me you should never need pads to play spin.

KP you are a really good player, you need to watch the ball and trust yourself. You’ll be able to pick up length and line and spin a lot better if you’re calm and trusting at the crease. Under stress we miss vital clues especially early one. If you get beaten and it spins past you so what… you’re still in, and realise that you’ll pick up the next ball better if you can forget the earlier one. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t play spin, I have seen you and you can.

Anyway, I probably rambled on too much… all the best, go well!

Rahul

KP admits that he reads this email quite often because Rahul called him a champ.

Now, more IPL

He describes about the bidding process. England players and the ECB did not favour the IPL because for them someone bidding for them was blasphemous. Things have changed now that the English players have been available throughout the season for the last few years. Back then, it was different. The English dressing room disintegrated because a couple of English players were paid pretty well in the IPL and that caused resentment. KP did have a wonderful time during the IPL with some of the best players the game had to offer. Sharing hotel rooms with them, training together, swimming together and generally, everyone had a relaxed time.

KP values the friendships that he gained during the IPL and throughout his playing career. He has friends across international teams whereas the English players do not mingle with anyone who hasn’t played in County Cricket. He gives one example. Back in 2013, when David Warner abused Matt Prior, KP stepped in to dissuade the situation because he got on well with Warner because of their days together at Delhi Daredevils. The English players didn’t like it because they felt that KP was on the side of Warner. There was another incident during the 2006 Ashes in Australia when Warne, who was a great friend of Pietersen was told by the Australian board not to be friends with Kevin. KP wasn’t aware of the diktat until the end of the series when Warne confided in him. They abused each other during the series.

Wrapping up Pietersen and Rahul Dravid

Pietersen towards the end of the chapter wonders, what is the game all about? Was it the abuse by both him and Warne or the gentle but firmness of Dravid?

Autobiography

Pietersen and the IPL

Posted on 1 September 20241 September 2024 by Bobji

This is the next chapter in the continuation of Kevin Pietersen’s autobiography. Pietersen and the IPL.

In this chapter, Pietersen talks about the IPL and the aversion of English cricket towards it. KP as we all know, love this country. KP spoke to Strauss about IPL. Strauss agreed that he, Pietersen, can play in the IPL as long as he does not miss games for England, which was reasonable. For him, it felt like Strauss telling him how dare you play in the IPL. KP says that he often asks for little adjustment considering the pressure he was under always. Initially, the English players with the exception of Pietersen stayed away from the IPL because it clashed with County cricket and international cricket. ECB was of the opinion that only the money-minded will play in the IPL and it is more or less chaotic, problematic etc. In 2009, KP was bought by RCB for 1.55 Million USD.

When he started to appear in the IPL, he liked the way he felt. He was taken care of much better than he was with England. However, he had to cut short his stint in IPL because of the Test series in England but he certainly admits that the IPL paid for his living for the next 20 years.

The hypocrisy of the ECB

He takes a poke at the ECB for their hypocrisy. ECB as soon as the success of the 2005 Ashes, sold the TV rights to private broadcasters. They took the game away from the free-to-air TV which deprived millions to watch the game. Why did they do it? For money ofcourse. Can they be called as mercenaries? He ponders.

However, he did not find them to be in the wrong. Sports is serious and it needs money, tons of them, to be able to manage a lot of stakeholders. Players are no different. KP is adamant that any sport needs superstars whose faces must be on the sidwalks, trains, billboards for the game to become popular. In a way, he is correct. Indians feed off of stalwarts like Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Tendulkar, Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He takes further digs at the ECB. Remember, ECB allowed Allen Stanford to land his helicopter on the hallowed turf at Lords of all the places with 20 Million USD in cash. They organised a lot more games to get more money. Yet, they wanted the players to play in County cricket and not go after money.

Whenever KP brings up the topic of IPL, the room turns tense with everyone looking at him and thinking that this fellow is all about money. However, KP was clear in his mind that the English players missed out on IPL. Some of the senior players wanted to play in the IPL but they were afraid what happens if they were not hired and ECB too decided to take disciplinary action. Strauss who went to the IPL 2014 final was simply mesmerised by what he saw. However, he still considered playing for England was a lot more satisfying.

The triumvirate

Now, KP goes onto reveal the shenanigans of the triumvirate, namely, Graeme Swann, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad. Prior among them was the worst of the lot because of his constant abuse of the players. It didn’t bother KP but it bothered the younger team members. He abused the players on and off the field. The trio turned the dressing room into a sort of a bingo hall. The batsmen who were in the team took the abuses and did not respond until Trott did on the field in the game against Bangladesh. Andy Flower did not do anything to discipline these players nor did he ask them to stop the abuse.

Neither did he empathise with KP who began to feel all alone in the dressing room. KP insists that his numbers are good but I believe that if only he had paid a little bit more attention, he could have easily finished with an average of about 52 which is the hallmark of a great batsman of his era. He also dedicates a few pages to his personal life as to how he met his wife Jess and what made them tie the knot or exchange rings. I am not going to go deep into his personal life. I am not that interested in it.

Wrapping up Pietersen and the IPL

The 2009 Ashes approached with KP nursing achilles injury. It had been been bothering him for awhile. He got out on 69 in the first Test at Cardiff and the papers who full of articles criticising him. After the second Test however, he was done for. His injury needed surgery. After the surgery was finished with a few days in the hospital, no one bothered to book a cab for him to go home. He had to do all that by himself and requested the cab driver to bring his things inside the home. KP wasn’t amused with the ECB who couldn’t arrange for such simple things. The rehabilitation didn’t go as planned and he was again rushed to see another doctor who told him that his playing days were over. KP was numb and decided to work hard for the people whom he loved rather than for the ECB.

He was back playing cricket after a few months but found getting runs difficult. Especially, against left-arm spinners. He understood that he had a problem and began to doubt himself until he met Rahul Dravid at the IPL to sort the problem. KP believes that Rahul Dravid was one of the greatest players of spin. He also believes that the IPL is an university which if tapped into properly, will offer a world of suggestions and advise from great cricketers.

Autobiography