Abu Dhabi: Ostracised batsman Kevin Pietersen does not deserve to make a controversial return to the England set-up, according to former Australia captain Steve Waugh.
He feels Pietersen, who was sacked by the English Cricket Board last year in the wake of England’s 5-0 Ashes mauling in Australia, is not the player he was.
Waugh also believes the South Africa-born batsman has burned his bridges with England, after his withering attacks on a number of former teammates in his infamous autobiography last year.
Current Australia captain Michael Clarke supported an England recall for Pietersen when he said on Friday: “I do think he could be at the Ashes [in the summer]. He has certainly scored enough runs.”
The Surrey batsman scored 170 on his return to first-class cricket against Oxford MCCU earlier this month in a determined bid to sway the England selectors.
But Waugh, speaking to media at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Shanghai, China, believes picking Pietersen would be a mistake. He said: “It would be a strange move to say 12 months ago Kevin Pietersen’s not right for the team and, for whatever reason, is not in the side.
“What has he done since that time to get back into the side or justify that? Look, we all know he’s been a world-class player. I think, in the last couple of years, his form’s dropped off, through injury or for whatever reason.
“I think England have got to make a clean break and look forward to the future. I think Australia did that a couple of years ago and that paid dividends. Sometimes, you’ve got to have short-term pain to get the long-term gain.”
Waugh, who led Australia to 1999 World Cup glory and captained his country in 15 of their record 16 consecutive Tests wins, added: “I’d see it as a stop-gap measure, so, personally, I don’t think I’d go back to what was happening before. They obviously made a decision for that reason and, unless that reason has changed, then they shouldn’t go back to what they had before.
“Unless he’s changed as a person and a personality – and that’s pretty hard to do – then I don’t know you go back to what happened before.”
Pietersen is England’s leading run-scorer across all formats, having scored 8,181 runs in 104 Tests, 4,440 in 136 One-Day Internationals and 1,176 in 37 Twenty20s.
Is there an argument that England should accommodate someone with his maverick talent despite his divisive personality?
Waugh said: “Is he good enough? I wouldn’t class him as a great player right now. He may have been a great player but I don’t think he’s a great player now.
Meanwhile, should Alastair Cook remain as England’s Test captain after he was replaced as the One-Day International skipper ahead of the World Cup earlier this year?
Waugh said: “I don’t know Alastair Cook that well but I know he’s a fantastic player. But, at some stage, you’ve got to ask the question: Is he motivating other players around him? Is he getting the best out of his team-mates?
“I think he’s done a pretty good job. He’s copped a lot of criticism, which I guess only a former captain would know what it’s like to walk in the shoes of being a captain. It’s not always easy and you can’t please everyone.”
