Giles Clarke, the millionaire who is chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, this week urged English cricket lovers to forget Kevin Pietersen. “English supporters must move on,” he said. “There is not going to be any going back, that is for sure.”
At almost the same moment Delhi Daredevils announced that Pietersen would be its captain in the Indian Premier League this year and Shane Watson, the Australian allrounder, was speaking of his regret that KP would not be taking part in the World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh.
Saga continuesSo I am sure we have not heard the last of the KP saga. This story will run and run, but it does not have to follow the pattern laid down by Giles Clarke.
Just suppose that England fare badly in the World T20, that those who are supposed to score Pietersen’s runs fail and the captaincy is less than perfect.
Meanwhile, not too many miles away, Pietersen scores a heap of runs and produces a couple of leadership tricks that give Daredevils the IPL crown. Those moments alone will make it difficult for English fans to forget the man who has brought glory and pleasure.
If, against all expectations, he continues to shine and England has an indifferent start to its Tests against Sri Lanka in June, there are sure to be supporters who yearn for the sight of his flashing blade and the scoreboard rotating as quickly as the scorers can compute the total.
Mr. Clarke has a reputation as a man who will not take no for an answer, but he might bear in mind the history of the game which is full of stories of amazing comebacks. I have one which is outstanding.
During the 1981 England tour of the West Indies Bob Willis broke down after a knee injury and had to return home. There were many who believed he would never play for England again. Eighteen months later he was captain and continued to be so for the next two years.
There are plenty of signs that KP is not forgotten, that those who adamantly believed ECB was right to sack him have taken a softer view and that England will not easily recover from his loss on top of the departures of Jonathan Trott and Graeme Swann.
Not everyone has the ECB’s faith in Alastair Cook as captain, some wonder who will be his opening partner, who will bat at No. 3 now that Joe Root is injured and whether the much-vaunted pace attack will stand up to constant pressure.
I would be happy to see Pietersen walking out to bat for England again — say in the first Test against India — and it would also give me pleasure to hear that he had been made captain once again.
When Geoff Boycott stepped down from his England spot there were many who thought that at 36 he would not play for England again.
Eventually Alec Bedser, chairman of selectors, saw that if England was to be great again Boycott had to return and made it his business to negotiate a way back.
Remember Boycott was just as difficult a cricketer as Pietersen but he also had qualities which Bedser respected.
I wonder if it might be possible for Boycott to return the favour and talk to both Clarke and Pietersen in an effort to bring about a reconciliation.
The ordinary guy buying his ticket, players like Watson, even rich officials like Giles Clarke, would rather see Pietersen where he ought to be — playing for England — rather than playing on the fringes of the game.