Andy Flower-Kevin Pietersen feud: Why KP must stay

Kevin Pietersen

A few days ago, when England cricketers Matt Prior and Stuart Broad were hailed for being involved in a dramatic rescue in Sydney – stopping their young countryman jumping from a bridge in a suicide bid) – there was a joke doing the rounds on Twitter that if Kevin Pietersen had saved the person, then the headlines would be saying “KP denies dying man’s last wish.”

The 5-nil battering at the hands of the Aussies, has provided the pundits enough ammunition to take shots at England’s feeble batting performance, and Pietersen’s form was bound to come under the scanner as a result. It is not that the other batters had any substantial scores to write about, but KP has always been the enfant terrible of English cricket, and the perception that his presence wasn’t always a steadying influence on the dressing room environment, has proved to be his undoing many a time.

While few can question his unbridled talent, the understated flair that he so often lends to an otherwise predictable batting line-up; which was famously brought to the fore in the brilliantly constructed 186, on a turning wicket in Mumbai, against Dhoni’s men in 2012.

Even though that game-changing innings effectively paved the way for a series win against the home side, Pietersen managed to endear himself to the Indian fans with his free-wheeling stroke play, which was very much on display in the preceding season of the Indian Premier League as well, when KP had turned out for the Daredevils.

The South-African born cricketer had enjoyed himself so much during the IPL stint for the Delhi based team, playing in front of adoring ‘home’ crowds, that for a while he had contemplated giving up international cricket, plying his trade in the 20-20 leagues instead. This was right after the ‘texting’ saga which saw him being unceremoniously dumped in the middle of a test series against the Proteas. Better sense had then eventually prevailed, and Pietersen found himself back in the English team.

That “re-integration” has been anything but smooth, and although his media-trained team-mates (and the coach) were making all the right noises, the under-current of unease was always palpable.

Pietersen’s run-ins with the coaches of the national team have been well documented. Peter Moores may have turned out to be the fall guy in the past, but the “all powerful” Andy Flower – credited with many of the accomplishments of the English side in the not too distant past – is no pushover. Indeed, he’s much less the coach, but the designated ‘Team Director’ and the ex-Zimbabwe cricketer is known to wield a degree of influence within the team, and the power corridors of the ECB.

Stuart Broad has likened him to Sir Alex Ferguson in his fastidious and controlling ways, and not unlike the former Manchester United manager, Flower will have no place for individuals who do not conform to his methods.

Cricket however differs from football, in the sense that even though it is a game played by 11 individuals, one man’s brilliance can change the course of a game.

For a team that is bereft of such match-winners, KP’s position should not be untenable. Cricket needs characters like Kevin Pietersen. And it will be a travesty of sorts, if the maverick genius of this man fails to find expression in the England’s scheme of things going forward.