Rob Key does not think in your normal conventional way : Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen was one of the early pioneers of England’s current approach to their limited-overs batting and his unconventional way of thinking clashed with England’s authorities in a dramatic way. It ended bitterly with Pietersen’s international career being cut short, but under Eoin Morgan, England bossed the psychology to become the world-dominant and World Cup-winning side in 2019.

And now under the management of Rob Key, they are striding on a new journey this summer and so far, it has worked wonders. Kevin Pietersen heaped praise on England’s new director of cricket and stated that Key does not think in your normal conventional way.

"It also took Rob Key, who does not think in your normal conventional way. He thinks outside the box. I have had some amazing conversations with Rob about positive mindset and batting ‘4-3-2-1’ rather than ‘1-2-3-4’ and that is what England are doing,” Pietersen told The Telegraph.

Elaborating the ‘4-3-2-1’ approach, Pietersen said, "Look for a boundary. Look to hit four or six, then if you can’t do that, go into defensive mode. The English way is thinking of a single or blocking a ball. I thought 4-3-2-1. I thought there was a boundary option for every single ball. Leaving it, blocking, and rotating the strike was option two. That is the way they are playing now. 

"Look at that opening partnership: Alex Lees goes down the wicket and smacks [Mohammed] Shami. As long as it does not become reckless I am completely cool with it. The only way they can continue is if the backroom staff led by Brendon and Ben give players that trust in knowing they will play for a very long time. They are doing that by sticking with Zak Crawley, which I think is magnificent."

During the Edgbaston Test against India, England Test skipper Ben Stokes was dismissed in a reckless manner, something Pietersen criticized but the former England skipper admitted that England are setting new standards for themselves in Test cricket.

"My tweet during the England innings around devaluing your Test wicket was only towards Ben Stokes because he is way better than a slogger who gets dropped at mid-off and then slogs it and gets caught at mid-off. 

"He just needs to watch Jonny Bairstow and realise he does not need to run at bowlers. But maybe he is saying: 'I’m the captain and I want you to play like I am talking and walking.' That was my only small concern. I will put that to bed and I just want this England team to smack it.

"We will see bad days but I think they are setting the benchmark for where Test cricket can go and can impose on the global game. The value of cricket is being driven through short-form stuff but if you have an England team winning the toss and chasing in a Test match then there has to be something convincing in that and I’m going to jump on the ride. 

"The only thing is will it work against a high-quality spinner in the fourth innings who is not going to allow them to dictate terms? But we have seen in the short form of the game that if you go after bowlers they get scared. It is just so cool to watch," Pietersen added.