Pietersen and the final breakdown

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