Kevin Pietersen had admitted he would have ‘loved’ to play in England’ s new look Test setup, as he looks back on the ‘toxic’ environment that he played in during his time as an international. During his peak Pietersen was a pioneer of the modern game, and was known for his extravagant and counter-attacking batting style.
The 42-year-old’s play mirrored that of new England coach Brendan McCullum, who has drilled the exuberance into the current crop of England players after taking over this year. McCullum and new captain Ben Stokes have revolutionised the England Test setup, having recorded three emphatic victories over New Zealand and one over India.
The new hard-hitting national team brushed aside New Zealand with a 3-0 whitewash series victory, after chasing down 276, 298 and 295 across the three matches.
England’s firing batsmen - most notably Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root - then carried this fine form into the rearranged clash with India, chasing down a record 377 at Edgbaston in comfortable fashion. Times for Pietersen though were different, after he told the Telegraph he was once ridiculed for going on the counter during a clash with Australia.
He said: “I had just hit Lyon for six. I was in command. I was running and bossing that game at the time and I went down the wicket to hit him again. I got out. It was an easy shot but then in front of everyone he [Graham Gooch] started spraying me on the balcony.”
Watching the England stars of today play in the fashion he had always wanted to has resulted in the former star admitting he would love to play in the modern day team, whilst slamming the dressing room he was involved in. “It was a toxic environment to play in,” he added.
“I got shouted at, screamed at, the press abused me, Sky commentators abused me, everyone hammered me if I got out having slapped it. I was playing like that but also knowing there were consequences. These guys now don't seem to have any consequences. So, short answer: yes I would love to play for this team."
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England’s revolutionary style of play has resulted in heavy praise for coach McCullum and captain Stokes. Pietersen, though, believes newly appointed Managing Director Rob Key also deserves credit. He said: “It also took Rob Key, who does not think in your normal conventional way. He thinks outside the box. I have had some amazing conversations with Rob about positive mindset and batting ‘4-3-2-1’ rather than ‘1-2-3-4’ and that is what England are doing."
Elaborating on the ‘4-3-2-1’ mindset, he added: “Look for a boundary. Look to hit four or six, then if you can’t do that, go into defensive mode. The English way is thinking of a single or blocking a ball. I thought 4-3-2-1. I thought there was a boundary option every single ball. Leaving it, blocking, rotating the strike was option two. That is the way they are playing now."
