Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen is nothing if he is not a marketing genius! While the country deliberates about the ruling class running Scotland, how bullying is affecting the lives of people online via Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter etc, the lack of big time quality sport in the media and the end of the English cricketing season, out comes his book about bullying in the most successful English cricket team in over 50 years.
Bang! Kevin Pietersen is on every sports news program, newspaper, online chat room, radio talk-in shows. At the heart of Kevin Pietersen book is a conflict of personalities and cricketing codes. Was Kevin Pietersen ever captain material? Does T20 cricket really justify being called cricket?
Well the answer to the first question is clear. Kevin Pietersen was never captain material. He is a great cricketer but he, even by his own admission he could not keep the unity in the dressing room. His character was just too toxic and hence the allegations of bullying and counter bullying charges were thrown around. The nature of his character was such a problem that the governing body was going to sack him from the England captaincy job, but, Kevin Pietersen anticipated this and resigned.
His resignation was both a liberating act and a worrying act for English cricket because the most successful English cricketer of the modern age was now a loose cannon.
Kevin Pietersen began to make a load of money writing articles and playing T20 cricket which is look down on by the English cricketing establishment. In effect the establishment see T20 cricket as football supporters see 5-A-side football. OK for practice but not a real football game. The only problem is that T20 cricket generates a load of cash unlike 5-A-side football. Kevin Pietersen gladly jumped into the Indian Premier League and earned far more than he did playing for England. This created a bigger split with the leadership and it continued for several years with a ”one minute in, next minute out” England career.
But being as bankable as he is he finally retired from England after being dropped from England for a disastrous Ashes tour in Australia even though he was the leading batsman. This gave him the green light to jump into T20 Indian Premier League fully. Which was laughed at by those who despise the T20 format, but now who is laughing?