Brendon McCullum was the instigator of the extraordinary move to bring arch-critic Kevin Pietersen into the England coaching squad.
It has been normal practice over the past decade for people with specialist local knowledge to be recruited by the ECB on consultancy terms ahead of major tours or global tournaments abroad, but Pietersen’s involvement has added shock value considering it happened shortly after he criticized McCullum’s white-ball regime.
However, Daily Mail Sport understands it was McCullum who suggested the role to Pietersen earlier this summer, around the time the New Zealander was relieved of his responsibilities as Test coach.
In the official press release, McCullum, 44, said he had ‘huge respect’ for former England captain Pietersen, who will take part in a double white-ball series against Sri Lanka from next week and will remain in the area until next year’s World Cup in southern Africa.
But he clearly holds no grudge either, following Pietersen’s scathing assessment of England’s preparation, or lack thereof, during a limited tour of India 18 months ago.
In his role as broadcaster on that tour, he accused England of a lax approach to pre-match training.
Kevin Pietersen has been appointed as mentor to England’s white-ball squad, despite being an outspoken critic of Brendon McCullum’s line-up in the past
In fact, it was McCullum (right) who initiated the appointment of his former critic
McCullum hit back, saying it was ‘factually incorrect’ for Pietersen and fellow commentator Ravi Shastri to say England had not trained enough during a tour that ended in two crushing defeats.
It was true, however, that England, in their attempt to balance the intensity of a tour of India with the desire not to let it become all-consuming, had failed to score the second and third one-day internationals.
A source close to McCullum said on Monday that, contrary to the public image of being stubborn, he demands strong opinions within the locker room culture he creates and sees Pietersen as someone who will naturally raise energy levels.
Pietersen has of course never been shy about expressing his opinion. Or mislead people in the process.
And although he has mellowed since being sacked by England 12 years ago and returning briefly three years ago to do some coaching during the white-ball tour of South Africa, he was critical of Harry Brook when he completed a contract in the Indian Premier League in 2025 that would have seen the pair work together at Delhi Capitals.
In an interview with ESPN last year, he said, “I told him. I was like, “Dude, I’m bummed I can’t work with you for a few months.” I think he’s a star… You don’t hit one ball over extra cover and the next, the same ball, over midwicket when you can’t play.
“So he can play well, but he has technical deficiencies in the subcontinent, especially in India. I really wanted to work with him, but people make their own choices in life and you have to respect them. He has a mistake playing in India – a very big mistake. Two months here, imagine what would have happened if he had fixed that?
“I would have worked with him the same as I did with (Joe) Root and (Jonny) Bairstow at the start of their careers. Root turned out to be the greatest spin player England has ever had. I’m not saying it’s because of what we did when he was little, but we spent hours together hitting the nets, doing drills and practicing. I love that stuff.”
Pietersen (pictured celebrating victory in the 2013 Ashes) is one of England’s greatest ever batsmen
An explosive batsman in his playing days, he will spend 15 months working for the England white-ball team
Intriguingly, Daily Mail Sport can reveal that Pietersen has been chasing England’s biggest stars this summer, but to no avail so far. He would like them to appear in episodes of his YouTube channel. The switchwith challenges and interviews with leading players from around the world.
Now he will don an England tracksuit and start next week in Southampton with a side that briefly reached No. 1 in the T20 world rankings this year, mentoring a group including many who idolized his flamboyant style as youngsters. England, on the other hand, are ranked seventh in the ODI rankings.
As part of a 15-month consultancy, Pietersen, 46, will also be involved in the tours to Australia and South Africa this winter and return next summer for series against Pakistan and New Zealand, which will complete preparations for the 50-overs World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next autumn.
“Putting on the England kit for the first time since 2014 is a great honor and a special moment,” said Pietersen, whose 277-cap international career included being named man of the tournament during the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup victory in the Caribbean.
“We have an incredibly talented white-ball squad and I look forward to getting into the trenches and working relentlessly hard with these players to maximize their potential.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to be part of Brendon’s think tank over the next 12 months, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Although McCullum planted the seed for this, the recruitment of South Africa-raised Pietersen is the latest ‘specialist’ appointed during Rob Key’s tenure as director of England men’s cricket: Mike Hussey was part of the support staff during Australia’s 2022 Twenty20 World Cup triumph, while Kieron Pollard took up a similar position during the 2024 event in the Caribbean, which resulted in a semi-final exit.
Eleven years ago, England turned to Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene to help them understand the challenges of playing on the fields of Asia.
Pietersen teamed up with Joe Root early in his career to bat against spin in the subcontinent
About Pietersen, McCullum added, “I’m especially excited that our hitters will have the opportunity to work with him. KP has a unique insight into what it takes to perform at the highest level, which will be extremely valuable to our players.”
His appointment follows on the heels of another high-profile former England player, Andrew Flintoff, leaving his role as coach of the England Lions.
Flintoff has been replaced by another multi-Ashes winner Jonathan Trott for this week’s Lions matches against the touring Sri Lankans.
Ravi Bopara and Graeme Swann are also in the coaching set-up, while the 20-man playing squad includes half a dozen full internationals, including Tom Banton and Jamie Overton.
