Kevin Pietersen saga: No one wins as ECB fail to take higher ground

Published: October 10 2014 | 10:37

Last updated: October 10 2014 | 13:13

Sports Mole takes a look at how the Kevin Pietersen saga has had an impact on the future of English cricket.

Book signings, leaked dossiers, accusations of bullying, parody Twitter accounts, and plenty of playground name calling. Yes, it's been a pretty long week.

When Kevin Pietersen announced that his autobiography would be released this month, it was expected that the fallout would be colossal, but the saga looks certain to leave scars that will take years to heal.

England's Kevin Pietersen raise his bat moments after reaching 50 runs during the third day of the third Ashes Test on August 3, 2013 © AFP

The time for debating whether Pietersen should have been sacked or not is apparently over. Even the 34-year-old knows - although he probably would not admit - that the issue has moved on from that debate.

A scapegoat, a maverick, a genius - call him what you will, but Pietersen has now somehow managed to force himself into the position of whistleblower, and his accusations have brought out a frightening side of the England and Wales Cricket Board, one that even their biggest critic probably didn't see coming.

The ECB could have taken the higher ground throughout this whole affair, but instead they have engaged too easily, and ended up making an awful public relations mistake by leaking the private dossier which listed Pietersen's apparent misdemeanours in Australia last winter. They can claim it was a mistake, but quite simply, there was no excuse.

It is the organisation which should take the majority of the blame for an affair that has turned into nothing more than two parties trading accusations without any meaningful resolution in sight. The cricketer will surely learn more about his own misgivings in time if he allows himself to listen to any of his critics, but the ECB have their own issues to address.

In 20 years, we should look back at this saga in embarrassment. The failures at each stage of the farce have been quite incredible. From the original decision to force Pietersen out of the door, to this week's verbal sparring, barely one word has been mentioned about on-field matters.

The accusations of cliques should come as no surprise, but if the apparent bullying was allowed to go on for as long as Pietersen claims, then the likes of Andy Flower must be held responsible. His own relationship with the author of the most controversial cricket book for years was clearly fractured, and it seems unlikely that he did not allow his own personal feelings to interfere when seemingly playing a key role in guiding him out of the door.

Kevin Pietersen of England kisses the urn after England won the Ashes during day five of the 5th Investec Ashes Test match between England and Australia at the Kia Oval on August 25, 2013 © Getty Images

It will always come back to one question. Do we care whether our cricketers are nice people? The ECB should be serving the supporters who pay good money to visit grounds in the pouring rain in the hope of catching just a few overs of cricket. Instead, they have refused to move out of their own comfort zone, and as a result, have pushed Alastair Cook into a terrible position where he has to watch one of this country's best ever players advising everyone what the team is doing wrong on every sports programme, radio show and newspaper.

The Test series win over India this summer managed to paper over cracks, but left more questions than answered. Team spirit might be in a good place, but will the supporters care if Australia record another Ashes triumph next summer? Every move the ECB make should be with a view to bringing success to the team and supporters. If they can honestly say that they have managed to stick to that principal this week, then we should all give up right now.

After all of that, what are we left with? A team a million miles away from challenging with the best sides in the world. One of England's greatest ever players driving up and down the country to sign books for those who think he can do no wrong, and a group of men at Lord's who seem to have no idea how to put the right measures in place to run a cricket team.

Entering an unwinnable argument with a disgruntled former player, who, for all of his faults, fully deserves to be upset with his old employers, has cast an even darker cloud over English cricket.

We have been taught a lesson in how not to handle a volatile situation by the ECB, and as Pietersen's pockets continued to be filled by his book sales, English cricket supporters breathe a collective sigh of frustration. No resolution, no star player, and no winners. This year won't be remembered for the cricket, it should be remembered for one of the most embarrassing periods in history for the English game.