Kevin Pietersen’s retirement from limited-overs internationals comes as a great shock, but it was around the corner considering all the speculation since last year. His recent revival in ODIs doesn’t seem to have kept him motivated to continue playing till the 2015 World Cup. Nishad Pai Vaidya looks at the development and examines Pietersen’s journey in ODIs.
Published: Jun 01, 2012, 11:04 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 23, 2014, 12:40 PM (IST)
The ECB central contract required a player to be available for selection for both ODIs and T20 Internationals. Kevin Pietersen made it clear that he would have played the ICC World T20 2012 had the condition not been there © Getty Images
Kevin Pietersen’s retirement from limited-overs internationals comes as a great shock, but it was around the corner considering all the speculation since last year. His recent revival in ODIs doesn’t seem to have kept him motivated to continue playing till the 2015 World Cup.
Nishad Pai Vaidya looks at the development and examines Pietersen’s journey in ODIs.
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A batsman who defied convention and rewrote the copybooks, Kevin Pietersen will never don the England One-Day International (ODI) blue jersey again. A format that allowed him to express himself and gave him the license to thrill would never be the same without his swashbuckling style that saw him fearlessly charge the fast bowlers or play the trademark reverse-hit. It is an astonishing announcement, particularly when you consider his recent revival in ODIs. However, going by the speculation that has done the rounds since last year, such a move was around the corner despite repeated denials. After all, there is no smoke without fire.
Prior to the 2011 World Cup, there was speculation surrounding Pietersen’s future in ODIs as he hadn’t been a dominant force in the format in the lead-up to the tournament. In fact, since he gave up captaincy, his average in ODIs plummeted to a nadir and was also dropped from the side during the home series against Pakistan in 2010. Last year, he was rested from the England-India ODI series in England. Again there were murmurs about his place in the setup. Those fears were allayed by Alastair Cook, England’s ODI captain, who believed that Pietersen remained a part of their 2015 World Cup plans.
All the rumours and hearsay emanated from his prolonged struggle in ODIs – a format he dominated in his early days.
A look at his record since his debut in 2004 to November 26, 2008, the day he captained England for the last time in ODIs:
| M | Runs | Avg | 100s | |
| Till November 26, 2008 | 87 | 3047 | 48.36 | 7 |
An average of 48.36 reflects tremendous consistency and when spread over 87 games, it is a good indicator of his impact for England in ODIs. He made his debut in Zimbabwe in 2004, but truly arrived when he toured the country of his birth – South Africa in early 2005. On that tour, Pietersen proved his character as he warded off criticism and taunts from the crowds and stroked three brilliant hundreds in the series. The world took notice of the birth of a star.
In 2008, Pietersen led England on a tour to India – a forgettable one as England were whitewashed 5-0 in the ODI series. However, his form was good and even scored a hundred in the fifth ODI at Cuttack – his last ODI as captain. Since then, his form slipped dramatically as he failed to convert the starts. The big scores were few and far in between.
His record in ODIs from December 2008 to October 14, 2011:
|
M |
Runs |
Avg |
100s |
|
| Dec 2008- Oct 14, 2011 |
33 |
705 |
22.74 |
0 |
An average of 22.74 doesn’t reflect Pietersen’s quality. A man who once dominated the bowling with panache became uncharacteristically quiet. One mustn’t forget that he missed a few games in this interval due to various reasons. Even then, those numbers do not do justice to a player of his quality. The date October 14, 2011 is being considered because the first ODI between England and India was played at Hyderabad on that day. Effectively, it was the last game of his struggle in ODIs as he picked up his performances in the games that followed. Here is his record from the second ODI of that series:
|
M |
Runs |
Avg |
100s |
|
| Post Oct-14, 2011 |
7 |
432 |
72.00 |
2 |
In the last four games of England’s tour to India in 2011, Pietersen changed things as his scores read 46, 64, 41 and 14. Such consistency eluded him for some time and this performance increased hopes for England. Little did anyone know that it was a precursor of bigger things to come. Early this year, Pietersen smashed two hundreds against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates to crush the demons of spin that tormented England during the Test series. Those knocks were reminiscent of his early days in ODIs as he was positive and dominated the bowling throughout. It was a gutsy performance considering the drubbing England received in the Test series and it led to a memorable 4-0 triumph in the ODIs.
The ECB central contract required a player to be available for selection for both ODIs and T20 Internationals. He couldn’t choose between the two and if he opted out of playing from one, it would automatically rule him out of the other – a term that wasn’t to Pietersen’s satisfaction. He said that he would have played the ICC World T20 2012 had that condition not been there. Thus, in effect he wanted to continue playing Tests and T20s for England and his recent success in ODIs didn’t have any bearing.
One may have felt that the fantastic performance in the Middle East would have fuelled his ambitions in ODI cricket. It is a huge blow to England’s 2015 World Cup hopes as they have lost a genuine game-changer. The only time they won an ICC event was when he delivered a man-of-the-tournament performance.
Pietersen may say that international cricket has become demanding and that he wants to allow a new generation of England players to get a run-in before the next World Cup. It isn’t a very strong argument considering the fact that he would be around 34 when it arrives. Quite a few players have featured in the tournament at that age and signed off in style. One can imply that Pietersen wasn’t very motivated to play the 50-over format.
Furthermore, England’s batting line-up in ODIs contains the likes of Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell (who was dropped for their latest ODIs assignment, but should be in their plans) – men who aren’t the most flamboyant batsmen. Pietersen’s presence in that line-up adds a much-needed dimension and it was evident during the series against Pakistan.
While the world is astonished by Pietersen’s announcement, ECB’s conditions have come under some sharp focus. It is a well balanced debate as some argue that when the two limited-overs formats are played together on an overseas tour, it may be a bit difficult to send different sets of players. At the same, the example of Andrew Strauss comes into the picture. The selectors and Strauss felt that he wasn’t suited to T20 cricket, but he continued to play ODIs. Keeping that in perspective, Pietersen could have quit ODIs and continued playing T20s after proper talks with the management. England certainly needed him to defend their title in Sri Lanka later this year. In the bargain, T20 Internationals may be the biggest loser.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a club-level cricketer with an analytic mind and a sharp eye. It was this sharpness which spotted a wrong replay in IPL4 resulting in Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal. Some of his analytical pieces have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. Nishad can also be followed on Twitter)
