Pietersen signs for Dolphins
England star looking forward to ‘home-coming’
THE Dolphins have signed Kevin Pietersen, one of the most charismatic and divisive figures in world cricket, for this year’s Ram Slam T20. The Durban franchise made the announcement at a press conference held at OR Tambo International Airport yesterday where the England star was at his sharp and witty best.
Pietersen will only play the first five matches – one against each of the other teams – of the tournament starting on November 1 before jetting off to Australia to feature in the Big Bash.
His inclusion will add to the allure of the tournament, which had a glittering array of West Indian superstars like Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo last season.
Pietersen was excited about his homecoming but understood he had a job to do. “Durban holds a very special place in my heart, having grown up there,” he said.
“I have a lot of family and friends there. Every time I come back to South Africa I get that homely feeling.
“I want to get off to some exciting and winning cricket. I obviously want to contribute on the field but, as I say in all the global tournaments I play in now, it is about giving back to the youngsters and helping them develop their game.
“I also understand that it is work. If you want to perform around the world, you’ve got to try to take emotion out of what you do and you’ve got to be constructive and go out there and do the business,” he said.
The 35-year-old is a sure-fire crowd puller and draws so much interest that even when he was not in England people are talking about him.
England and Wales Cricket Board director of cricket Andrew Strauss – a known Pietersen adversary – told British media a couple of days ago that Pietersen’s omission from the England team helped them win the Ashes against Australia.
Pietersen, who is England’s total highest run scorer of all time, said he was disappointed that he would not be touring South Africa with the England team this summer.
“I’d love to play cricket for England again but at the moment that’s a no-go and they’ve done pretty well against Australia. I’m happy with all their youngsters and how they are performing. England is not even on my radar at the moment,” he said.
This is the second time “KP” has signed for the Dolphins after leaving South Africa in 2001 for England in search of opportunities to play international cricket. He was part of the 2010 Sunfoil Series Dolphins team.
Pietersen said his friendship with former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith was the biggest contributing factor in his decision to sign on the dotted line.
“Biff’s been talking to me about it for a while now. The dates fitted my schedule, in the first two weeks of November. Unfortunately, I can’t play the whole tournament because my schedule is busy from mid-November until goodness knows when,” he said.