Kevin Pietersen: ‘Why I wouldn’t have been able to get my head around playing for England this summer’

The former Hampshire star is delighted he wasn’t part of a team that ever played in front of empty stadiums in a big game - like England and the West Indies will do in the coming weeks.

And he’s also pleased he was never forced to quarantine in the same hotel as his team-mates for days on end - the England squad having lived on-site at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl in recent weeks.

‘I’m actually very glad I'm not a player this summer – I don't think I would have been able to deal with it,’ he said.

‘Players usually have their families, their agents and their sponsors. They can get out and play golf. There is always something going on.

‘Being stuck with each other is going to be testing for the players. I wouldn't have been able to get my head around it.

‘It’s so important to be able to get away from the game because of the stresses and strains that it places on your mind and body.

‘The novelty of this situation might exist for the first Test match or two, but being stuck with each other in a hotel is going to be quite testing by the end of the month.

The first major game of the lockdown era starts at The Ageas Bowl today when England lift the curtain on a three-match Test series against the West Indies.

‘I have missed cricket over the last few months – it's about time we got it back on our screens,’ said Pietersen, a veteran of 104 Tests and 8,181 runs.

‘We've got golf back, we've got football back, we’ve got horse racing back, there has been all sorts. It's going to be really nice to actually watch a little bit of cricket.

‘I would always rather see sport, even in this form, than not.

‘For the morale of the players, as well as the supporters, it’s crucial that the game gets going again.

‘I speak to a lot of current players and they all say, “Jeez, all I want to do is play”. Some of them are in the prime of their careers and don’t have time to waste.’

Pietersen, who played for Hampshire between 2005-2010 inclusive, is intrigued as to what he might see at The Ageas Bowl with no spectators in the ground.

‘It's going to be very interesting to see how the big performers go – the players who need the crowd, need the noise and need to be able to show off in front of people,’ he said.

‘You want to be showing off your skills in front of massive crowds, that’s for sure. I hated playing Test matches out in the UAE where there were no crowds.

‘We saw Dustin Johnson win the golf (The Travelers Championship) the other day, but he's an under-the-radar guy. We haven't seen Rory McIlroy come to the fore, a guy who really starts to walk with purpose when the crowds are up.

‘Cricket is particularly interesting because they have to keep the game entertaining for the viewer on television. A day of Test cricket is seven hours long and you get some really quiet passages of play.

‘Usually you can go off into the crowd and watch people messing around, building those snakes out of plastic cups and getting lairy.

‘That can be a nice distraction.

‘It’s the same for the players out in the middle – I always used those funny moments in the crowd to keep me going during long stints in the field.

‘There will be a hum of crowd noise on the TV coverage, which should at least add a little bit of theatre.’

For full interview, visit ...

https://sports.betway.com/en/sports/cat/cricket