KP: ENGLAND WASTED MY BEST YEARS

Pietersen insists his greatest batting form has been since he was sacked by Lord’s chiefs and made a T20 martyr

KEVIN PIETERSEN maintains England have missed out on some of the best years of his batting career by turning him into a Twenty20 martyr.

While Eoin Morgan’s squad clocked on at the Ageas Bowl ahead of tomorrow’s opening international against South Africa, Pietersen was being unveiled in London as one of the star attractions in the new franchise-based T20 Global League, which opens for business in his native country in November.

It is three years since Pietersen was sacked by England at a five-minute meeting by Paul Downton, a man who lasted barely five minutes as managing director.

Much of the soundtrack to KP’s falling-out with the England & Wales Cricket Board was his repeated arguments with the blazers over permission to play in the megabucks Indian Premier League.

He is faintly amused that players have since been signed off to play in the IPL at the stroke of a pen by Lord’s – and in some cases they have come back injured, with barely a flicker of protest from those who once nailed him to the cross.

The trailblazer is happy enough that others now profit from his arguments. But he has unfurled some of his best innings as an exile from international cricket, and in the eyes of most neutral observers that is a senseless waste.

Pietersen said: “I don’t want to rake over old coals because playing for England has gone for me, it’s done and dusted.

“But I’ve enjoyed some of my best batting days in the last two or three years at the Big Bash, the Ram Slam in South Africa and the Pakistan Super League.

“I have scored a triple hundred for Surrey and I have enjoyed some real good days of batting. I can still produce on big stages, in front of full stadiums and proper bowling attacks.

“This is the environment that got me in trouble with all the big bosses – and yet England players who are signed up are now being applauded for going to these tournaments.

“They are even willing to risk injuries for players to gain experience and participate in them. It got me in a lot of trouble with the ECB, but I’m totally cool with it now.

“I said after the very first IPL that we had to get more English players involved, so I love it when Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes go over there and make an impact.

“Some people were trotting out the ECB mantra by saying we couldn’t promote the IPL, but the public can now see the bigger picture rolling out in front of their eyes.

“When I was doing it, I was the bad guy – now they are being pumped up for broadening their horizons, which is absolutely fine, and it’s brilliant to see people like Stokes do what they do.”

Pietersen (below) will be a star turn for the Durban-based franchise in the T20 Global League this winter – although will spare England his critical eye as a TV pundit in the first half of their Ashes defence.

“I was supposed to be doing TV work at the Ashes, but fortunately I had not signed any contracts when I got the call to to play in the Global League.

“When I say ‘fortunately’ it’s because I’m still playing some of the best cricket of my career. “I’m 36, not 56, and I’m fitter now than at any stage when I was playing for England.

“Just have a look at Kumar Sangakkara – he is nudging 40, and he’s just churned out five hundreds in a row for Surrey. So age is no barrier. As long as I’m fit, and I enjoy batting, then playing comes first, so now I can spend six weeks with my family and hanging out with my mates in South Africa before moving on to the Big Bash in Australia.”

Pietersen says England missed the boat by getting knocked out of the Champions Trophy on home soil, but he is backing new Test skipper Joe Root to reenergise the side thrashed 4-0 in India last winter.

He said: “England are a wonderful young team. They should have won this Champions Trophy – if you look at their strength in depth, and in English conditions, they should have won this tournament.

“For the Test series, it could be tight because South Africa have some wonderful talent too, but everything Joe has done in his career so far has been absolute A-grade, and I don’t see any reason why captaincy should be any different.

“I love him as a guy and a player, but his captaincy is going to be tested. I would love to see him do well – the only country I never beat in a Test series as a player was South Africa.”