England Cricket / Frank Gregan / 30 March 2009 / Leave a comment

England are going to win their final ODI against the West Indies on Friday but Kevin Pietersen's state of mind remains a long term worry, says Frank Gregan.

Kevin Pietersen has made a few comments over the last couple of days that have raised a few eyebrows. He said that he is suffering from "mental fatigue" - it was probably a typo, metal fatigue is more likely, he's certainly looking a bit rusty!

Watching the fourth one dayer in a bar with friends, it was clear that the English supporters were suffering mental fatigue. As Simmons and Gayle were lashing the bowling over the ropes the bloke next to me said, "this is doing my head in." That KP, is mental fatigue!

It looked like being same old/same old for England until a combination of some decent bowling, unseasonable weather, a sound knock from Andrew Strauss and the mathematical assumptions of Mssrs Duckworth and Lewis fell into place and enabled England to tie the series. It's all to play for now in the decider on Friday and having won their one dayers courtesy of two strange quirks of fate it looks like the proverbial "it's meant to be" for England in this series and I'll be adding again to the portfolio at odds of [2.1] on Strauss's men finally coming good.

KP wasn't called upon to bat and given his current state of mind (and body) that probably wasn't a bad thing. He is vital to this English side and if they are to have any chance at all in the Ashes series then he will need to be at the very top of his game. Some exceptional man management skills are going to be needed to get him focussed on producing his best and thus far the ECB have shown none.

His request for a return to the UK for a short break was turned down. That's not good man management and although not privy to everything that happens behind the scenes we can only assume that Pietersen wasn't happy with the refusal and consequently he is now at loggerheads with officialdom. Conversely, it isn't right to allow players time off during a tour and to pick and choose when they are going to be in theatre and the management were put in a difficult situation.

A disgruntled KP at odds with his team-mates, opposition, the media and management is not going to perform to the best of his abilities. The remainder of the squad will not appreciate an individual being allowed time off without a valid medical or compassionate reason. A compromise is necessary.

The one thing that the ECB has control over that Pietersen desperately wants is Ashes participation. The thing that the England cricket team wants more than anything else is to win the Ashes. Pietersen's request should have been approved but he should have been told to "get his head sorted." He shouldn't have been given a 48 hour leave of absence but an indefinite one and told to get himself back to England and get back into shape both physically and mentally.

It could have been handled in such a manner that Pietersen would have thought that the ECB were doing him a favour but it would also have sent the message that his current attitude is not good enough.

His participation in the Ashes at the moment is a given but sending him home would have provided the reality check that he needs in order to rekindle his hunger for international cricket. On his return, he would have been welcomed back with open arms by the English players that he doesn't get on with, because they know that in order to fulfil their dreams of an Ashes win they need KP fit, hungry and raring to go. It was an opportunity missed, short term pain for a long term gain.

Those of you who thought that my typo quip was a bit weak should know that I have first hand experience of a similar situation. Whilst in the Army I was given a written order to report for dental treatment. There was a typo, the clerk had hit the M key and not the D! Let's hope KP's mental fatigue is also a misunderstanding and he gets himself back into the kind of form that can help England win the Ashes.