Sports

Kevin Pietersen returns as England white-ball mentor

Meera ChandranPublished 2w ago2 min readBased on 2 sources
Kevin Pietersen returns as England white-ball mentor
Image by yogendras31 from Pixabay

Kevin Pietersen is back in an England shirt, 12 years after his international career ended in a sacking.

The 46-year-old former England captain has returned as a "specialist mentor" to the white-ball teams, the sides that play limited-overs cricket with a white ball in one-day internationals and T20s. The appointment was confirmed in early September, with England building towards a 50-over World Cup in Africa next year Sky Sports.

Pietersen was sacked by the ECB in 2014 after a break with the team management. He spoke to the media at Headingley about the return, saying he is there to help head coach Brendon McCullum first and foremost and to help players become the best versions of themselves BBC Sport.

He will work on a dip in-and-out basis through to the 50-over World Cup next autumn. Pietersen stressed he is not seeking to become the coach of England. He lives in South Africa and described the part-time shape of the job as a natural fit.

His work has already started on the training field. Before the first one-day international in Durham, Pietersen led a batting session with Joe Root and Rehan Ahmed on rotating the strike against spin, the art of taking singles to keep the score moving rather than getting stuck against turning deliveries.

That session points to where England think he can add most. Pietersen said he can help white-ball captain Harry Brook with playing situations, reading the state of a chase or an innings and choosing the right option under pressure.

The players are still adjusting to seeing him in the home dressing room again. Tom Banton said he was in awe of Pietersen, a four-time Ashes winner from the historic England-Australia Test rivalry, and was struggling to build up the courage to even speak to him.

For fans, this means a familiar face in an unfamiliar role. Pietersen was one of England's most explosive batters, famous for taking on bowlers. Now the task is quieter: passing on that feel for timing, risk and momentum to a new group chasing a world title.

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