Kevin Pietersen's international career is over, at last.
That he has been an exciting batsman who could win matches on his own is undeniable; he was clearly one of the best batsmen England has had over the last 50 years and has become well known even outside of his sport. Thereby is the problem.
Just like the superstars of some other sports - George Best and Paul Gascoigne immediately spring to mind - Pietersen has been destroyed by his own ego and personality, by the very celebrity status which he earned from his sporting prowess. In his own mind, he became more important than the game he played, or his team, or his country. It is clear, and has been for some years, that Pietersen has been a disruptive influence in the dressing room; in the end, even his team mates had had enough of their maverick colleague and he had to go.
Some commentators are bemoaning his departure and wondering where England will find his replacement. The simple answer is that no one is irreplaceable and even a slightly less talented player will be a more than adequate replacement if he shows a better attitude towards his team and its needs. Pietersen is far from being the greatest player in England's cricketing history, though he was a good one. Unlike the true greats of the past, he was able to play on manicured pitches and rarely had to intermesh his international career with county or other commitments; he probably never played on a rain affected wicket and the first hint of rain or bad light saw him and his team mates racing for the pavilion. How he would have fared in the days of uncovered and rough-hewn pitches is something we will never know but he'd have been hard pressed to challenge the genius of Hobbs or Sutcliffe, Hutton or Compton, or a plethora of others.
Pietersen's exit is a boon to English cricket. It is just a pity it did not happen earlier.
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