The English Cricket Board has unanimously decided that Kevin Pietersen will never represent his country again. It’s a blow to anyone who likes their cricket played with raw intensity and passion.
Bureaucracy has ousted singular personality. The English cricket team will once again be comprised of beige, pliant drones. Business as usual.
Pietersen was apparently hard to manage. But he was good at cricket. So isn’t it the job of the management team to manage these perceived short-comings?
He is fulfilling his end of the bargain – to reiterate, that involves being good at cricket – so the obvious task for the English board and coaching staff is to simply maintain a harmonious workplace environment while enabling Pietersen to do his thing on the field.
The business world is littered with cunts who happen to be very good at their job. Tech visionary Steve Jobs was allegedly a massive jerk to his fellow employees, often chewing them out in front of staff, and he apparently dodged giving stock options to some of Apple’s earliest employees, effectively denying them of millions.
But he was good at his job – and people accepted that.
If Pietersen’s ego is “dividing the changeroom,” as has been speculated, then that’s a pretty weak excuse for dropping your star batsman. Look into any grade cricket team and you’ll see six or seven exceptionally divisive, ego-driven characters – some of them genuine sociopaths, others just deeply insecure. And as long as they hit runs and take wickets, they’ll remain in the team.
That’s the nature of society: we must learn to cope with those that are different – especially if they serve value towards our end goal. It’s the only way shit gets done.
Pietersen’s rejection is an indictment on the English Cricket Board and the English leadership group.
By Dave Edwards
Isn’t it also Pietersen’s responsibility to be less of a jerk, and more of a team player? He has been given opportunities to become more of a team player, yet has continually proved he can’t put team ahead of self.
He made runs in Australia, but his batting was at times bizarre. He gave his wicket away with wild slogs in Perth and Melbourne, and his ego wouldn’t let him ignore the mid wicket flick in both Brisbane and Adelaide.
The ECB should have given him the boot after he sent text messages to South African players complaining about his skipper Strauss, and giving the South Africans tips on how to get Strauss out. Taking him back was a mistake, especially as he can’t seem to change his behaviour.
Pietersen couldn’t get along with coach Moore, Strauss, Cook or Flower. So is it the problem of management, or is the problem big Kev?
I take your point, and I agree that his batting in the most recent Ashes series was at times bizarre. But that was a reflection on his ‘headspace’ – not his ability. And we all know how important “being in the right headspace” is for professional sportspeople (i.e: very).
You can’t buy that kind of talent. It must be nurtured, tendered to constantly – much like a pot plant in a sun-deprived inner-city apartment complex – if it is to fully blossom.
Also, I don’t think the South Africans really needed any tips to get Strauss out at that stage of his career.
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Dave J. Edwards
TPA Founder, Publisher
dave@thepublicapology.net