Former England captain and much-lauded batsman Kevin Pietersen’s KP: The Autobiography is populated by a cast of characters designed to reflect well on the protagonist. And so, among others, we find a “sad, sad bastard”, “weak prick” and “mood hoover”. Needless to say, the recognisable real-life owners of those monikers are not pleased, and are campaigning to have Pietersen’s book shelved under “fiction” instead.
Ex-teammate Graeme Swann, the villain of the piece and the man at whom the double “sad” honorific has been aimed, has dismissed Pietersen’s book as a “Jules Verne” adventure. Another former England captain, Michael Atherton, detected a hazy Holmesian plot playing out on its pages. Predictably, perhaps, Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting sounded a note of dissent, backing Pietersen’s claim of being bullied by Swann and others.
Autobiographies are most often an opportunity for authors to present their version of events, settling some scores along the way, and the “truth” is difficult to ascertain. KP is no different. It may be a cricket book without much cricket in it but it is certainly explosive enough to be a bestseller: bullies, backstabbers, scapegoats and company men feature heavily in this expletive-ridden drama. Pietersen acknowledges that “there should be more cricket in these pages”, but he chooses to cater, instead, to fans hungry for dressing-room gossip. Admirers of his skill, such as those who call his 186 at Mumbai in 2012 the best innings by any away batsman ever, can continue to speculate on what made him fearless.
Pietersen isn’t the first cricketer to pen a book with revenge and royalties on his mind. But he has outdone previous efforts in insulting rivals and washing dirty linen in public. Will his success see more vitriolic reminiscences, and thus a murkier cricket story?
