Kevin Pietersen to call time on
England after the two Ashes series:
For an English cricketer there is
nothing that comes close to winning an Ashes series. This was evident with the
open top bus parade after winning the 2005 Ashes. If England were to be
successful in the back to back series against the old enemy, Kevin Pietersen
would claim his fourth and fifth Ashes series win. He and Ian Bell are the only
surviving members of the victorious 2005 team, making them two of the most successful
English cricketers in recent times.
The first reason I believe he
will retire from international cricket is that he would have proved many fans
wrong, if he were to win another two Ashes series. Despite being one of England’s
most consistent performers over the past eight years he has had a love-hate
relationship with many supporters. This could be attributed to two reasons, one
could be that many dislike the fact that he is not actually English and the
other reason is many people believe he has a big ego. Watching many of his
interviews I do not believe that he is egoistic, I also see a player very proud
to represent England.
Another big factor in his
decision could be the Indian Premier league. At the age of thirty three he
still has plenty of good cricket left in him. Possibly another four-five years
at the top level. These years may be spent maximising his earning potential in
lucrative short tournaments. In India he is a superstar, and if he were allowed
to play the whole of the Indian Premier League he would gain more money. If he
were to continue his international career he would not be able to participate in
the whole tournament. There are many other competitions that he could pick and
choose after if he were to finish with international cricket.
The demands of International
cricket mean that players will spend many months away from families for long
periods of the year, including most Christmas’s. This is something that
Pietersen like many other players have complained about in the past. This added
to the fact that after the Australia away series the next fixtures include long
trips away to West Indies and India. These are places that he has already made
history with England, therefore has not much else to prove.
In the past Kevin Pietersen has
tried to stop playing one day internationals, but this forced him to retire
from the twenty20 side also. This original retirement has now been retracted
after the long and drawn out arguments with the ECB. This included his exile
from all international cricket which had been imposed on him. I am in no doubt
that currently his sole focus is the Ashes series, but he must be considering
calling it a day after. Kevin Pietersen place in the England test team has not
only seen them win three Ashes series but also seen them rise to number one in
world cricket. If he were to retire he would obviously finish as a player who could
have achieved a lot more in terms of records but definitely a very successful
player for England.
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