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EXCLUSIVE Yahoo Sport interview with Kevin Pietersen

The England cricket legend talks exclusively to Yahoo Sport about playing for South Africa, the best player he’s ever played against, what he has left to achieve in his career, how people react to his flamboyance, and more.

You’ve been playing your cricket all over the world in the last few years - have you been enjoying it?

I’ve absolutely loved it; it’s been some of the most fun times of my cricketing career. I’ve really, really enjoyed it. I think as sportsmen and as cricketers it’s easy to get stuck in a rut doing the same thing time and again. But really you’ve got to be ambitious in what you do; it’s good for the brain.

Do you feel the same sense of responsibility when you play compared to county cricket, given you are just flying in for a few weeks at a time?

Absolutely. Because I’m an icon player in all the different leagues, I feel I have an extra responsibility to perform. It’s a responsibility I’ve had playing for England batting at number four - my job in the team being to win games of cricket, and that’s is exactly the same as it is for the T20 side I’m playing for.

As long as I keep doing that I’m going to keep enjoying it and luckily enough in the last couple of years I’ve been doing it quite often for the team. It’s good fun.

As you say, you’re still smashing runs - have you thought about how long you can carry on playing?

Yeah, I’ll carry on playing for as long as I can. As long as I’m enjoying it, I’ll keep playing.

You’ve floated the idea of an international comeback with South Africa…

Yeah that could happen - who knows? We’ll just have to see where I’m at when I qualify and if it can work. I don’t feel old in myself and I know I can still contribute so much, so why not?

That would be quite a move wouldn’t it?

No, not really. And I say that because South Africa is where I lived for 20 years. I’m still there so often - I’ve been in South Africa three times in the last six weeks and I’m going back in a couple of weeks’ time. It’s the easiest thing in the world, you can commute from London to South Africa; it’s only ever a nice flight.

What about in the context of having been a successful batsman for England. Would it be an unusual thing to go and play for South Africa?

Well I play in different leagues around the world, so it wouldn’t be any different. It’s just cricket.

Any chance of an England recall?

I wouldn’t have a clue, buddy. I wouldn’t have a clue [laughs]!

People talk about your confidence – some like it, some are afraid of it. Do you think it’s a very English thing to be wary of people who are confident?

Yeah, it is. It is. Very much so. And not just an English thing at all – it’s a human thing. But then you speak to people on a one-on-one basis and people don’t actually mind the flamboyance. Look at Manchester United signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for instance. There is somebody who is incredibly confident because he wins trophies and he knows what he’s got to do. I think what confident people or say arrogant people do is give the media and the tabloids a lot of headlines. It’s the day they don’t perform that they need to worry about!

Have you got anything else you want to achieve?

I’d love to win some T20 competitions. I had three finals in the winter and lost them all so I’d love to win a T20 competition in my franchise journey.

Who was the best player you went up against?

Jacques Kallis was always the guy I looked up to most and feared most. If you can think of a better all-rounder in the game, then I’d love to know who it is. Jacques could do everything. And when playing alongside him, he was always a character who you would feel had your back. Like in soccer, a defence can play with more confidence when they know they have a good goalkeeper behind them – it was the same with Jacques.

What was the best team you played in?

I’m not sure about the best team, man for man, but as a side that upset the odds and came together as a formidable unit, it’s difficult to look beyond that Ashes-winning England side of 2005. That was a really special summer – inside the camp we could sense we had a chance to achieve something truly memorable, namely bringing the Ashes back home after such a long gap. And outside the camp, the British public were embracing cricket in a way not seen for decades.

What has ultimately been great about that team and that summer is the legacy left behind. Other sports have a golden era before things tend to settle back down again, but for English cricket that proved to be the catalyst for continued success, and for public interest that has never waned at all. So I think that’s what makes that period of time and that team so unique.

Who is the best team in the world right now?

Well it’s so close at the top of the ICC rankings and any one of five teams could claim to be the best in the world. I’m a bit disappointed that South Africa are as low down as they are, but they are going through something of a rebuilding process, and that’s what every team has to do.

How good are England at the moment?

Well they’re right up there. They really need someone to come in and grab that opening batsman slot with Alastair Cook. A few have had their chance and not taken it.

If England can get the right man to come and make that position solid, then they have the best team in the world without a doubt, because the bowlers are quality and the middle order does more than it needs to in terms of runs.

www.kp24foundation.com | www.facebook.com/kevinpietersen | www.twitter.com/KP24

On 22nd September Kevin Pietersen will be representing the KP24 Foundation and captaining the Surrey All-Stars v Cricket United at The Kia Oval. There is exclusive hospitality opportunities available, with all money raised helping his foundation to deliver their charitable projects.