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Kevin Pietersen has said he would “absolutely” consider becoming part of a future England cricket coaching set-up and revealed Rob Key has previously sounded him out a couple of times.
While Brendon McCullum, along with managing director Key, is expected to get the backing of the England and Wales Cricket Board to continue despite a winter of overall discontent, it is understood that there is room to tweak the coaching group.
“Rob Key has mentioned it on a couple of occasions, but we’ve never really got to that position where it’s like: ‘OK, what should we do here?’” said Pietersen, who won the Ashes and T20 World Cup with England. “If Rob Key called me and said: ‘I want to talk to you properly,’ then I’ll talk to him, definitely. I’m available to have the discussion.”
Pietersen, who was speaking before England’s T20 World Cup semi-final defeat by India on behalf of the International Cricket Council’s official accommodation partner, Marriott Bonvoy, is a mentor for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming Indian Premier League and is enthusiastic about working with household names and homegrown talents.
His fellow Ashes 2005 teammate Marcus Trescothick holds the position of England men’s batting coach and has been a key figure during McCullum’s four-year tenure. During the recent 4-1 Ashes defeat, Trescothick was duly rolled out in press conferences to defend England’s aggressive tactics with the bat. Pietersen has been a vocal critic of the approach in Test cricket but is seemingly keen to get his hands dirty and help out.
“I would absolutely look at it in the longest form of the game and try to help these guys understand that there is a way that you can play,” said Pietersen. “Tactically, you’ve got to understand the situation. I know I’ve got all the credentials. I know I do. I’ve worn every single T-shirt. I’ve failed. I’ve won. I’ve done everything in the game and I would never, ever not look at helping England out.”
Looking back at the Ashes defeat, Pietersen believes that England could have made the Test matches a lot closer. “In the shortest form of the game, sure, play without fear, go out there, be brave, be reckless, be careless, be whatever you want. In Test match cricket, you cannot do that.
“I did it at times, yes, and I learnt. I also knew my responsibility of making sure that in certain situations, in a lot of situations, I defended that ball straight. I hit back at the stumps for a long time in my career. I didn’t run down the wicket against Australia’s fastest bowlers and try and slog them for six first ball! I knew my limitations.
“You’ve got to build an innings. I built innings in Test match cricket. When I got in, sure, I had some fun.”
