THE GOOGLY: Yes Kevin Pietersen has had England lows… but name a player who hasn’t

HUW TURBERVILL: There have been more auspicious farewell stages, but still. He has been spending the last few years bestowing the wonders of ‘franchise cricket’, so maybe it is fitting

^{Kevin Pietersen is set to call time on his playing career}

Is this really the end, KP, the final curtain?

Or are you just teasing us?

We all wanted you to wear the green of South Africa, and face England. What fun that would have been!

But yes, this does indeed seem to the last innings by the great batter. The Pakistan Super League. There have been more auspicious farewell stages, but still. He has been spending the last few years bestowing the wonders of ‘franchise cricket’, so maybe it is fitting.

I have written a piece about him before for the magazine and this website, so I will not retread all the old ground. Except to say…

The sheer highs.

^{Pietersen will bow out after the Pakistan Super League}

Those swashbuckling one-day centuries against South Africa in 2004/05. The Ashes 2005, and The Oval. Switch-hitting Murali. So many centuries. Lord’s. Adelaide. Mohali.

And the lows. Moores-gate, and losing the captaincy in 2009. 2012 - Twittergate. And Headingley – Blackberry-gate (or doos-gate?), and the comments about James Taylor. The Ashes 2013/14, and the rows with Graham Gooch. The end.

My new point is this, though…

When people will review his England career, there will always be the sense of what might have been.

And yet…

He has still scored more runs for England (in all formats) than anyone else.

And can you name many great players who did not have some lows or regrets?

Gooch missed years because he went on rebel tours to South Africa.

^{The former England captain has been a controversial figure}

Ian Botham elected to miss India 1984/85 (a great win); and had to sit out five-sixths of the summer of 1986 after he had admitted to smoking cannabis.

David Gower was banished from international cricket at the end by Gooch.

Denis Compton averaged 7.57 in the 1950/51 Ashes.

Geoff Boycott self-exiled himself when Mike Denness was captain.

Colin Cowdrey was never trusted with the captaincy for very long.

Fred Trueman found himself in hot water after a thirsty tour to West Indies in 1953/54.

And so on.

Only Alastair Cook can look back with no regrets perhaps. He has been omnipresent in Tests, showing tremendous character to ride a couple of terrible runs of form.

So Pietersen is far from alone.

He will find it difficult, of course, for that is his character, but he should try to not look back in anger…

So long, KP; it’s been interesting.

KEVIN PIETERSEN CAREER STATS

First class: 16,522 runs (ave 49.76, 50 100s), 73 wickets (ave 51.50)

List A: 8,112 runs (ave 40.76, 15 100s), 41 wickets (ave 51.75)

T20: 5,540 runs (ave 34.62, s/r 136.95), 17 wickets (eco 8.09)