5 Ways to Save English Cricket in the Wake of the Kevin Pietersen Controversy

Kevin Pietersen’s book is not threatening English cricket; rather, it has drawn attention to those issues that are doing so.

Power concentrated in the hands of few, a cliquey dressing room culture, rigid coaching methods, declining interest in cricket, conservative training approaches and a backward mindset; these are the issues that Pietersen’s book drew focus too. Whether the ECB listens to the warnings remains to be seen. 

Click "Begin Slideshow" to read five ways the ECB can save English cricket. 

One of the overarching problems highlighted by Pietersen’s book is the over-zealous approach of Andy Flower, who, according to Pietersen, became dictatorial and authoritarian. 

A simple way to solve such a problem arising again would be to split the coaches for Test and limited overs cricket.

The three formats of cricket are far too different nowadays for one coach to oversee all three of them anyway, so appointing Test and limited overs specialists would not only divide power between two men, but also, most likely, improve England’s results across all three formats. 

English cricket is historically conservative and cautious, not only in tactics, but also in administration and management. English cricket and the ECB take the careful path, the well trodden road. Rarely do they veer from the norm or test the untested.

Sri Lanka, with their variations and unusual cricketers, are the antithesis of England. English cricket doesn't need to replicate Sri Lanka exactly, but it needs to dare a little more. Live on the edge.

Select Jason Roy for 50-over cricket on the back of Twenty20 form, don’t amend the bowling action of a 17-year old who can bowl a doosra.

There’s a reason England have only ever won one global event and it’s simply because they are too cautious. 

Sacking Alastair Cook as one-day international captain would be one move that would rid England of conservatism.

Cook’s captaincy is cautious in design and in materialisation, his batting is not suited to the ODI format, and he is, in every sense, a very English captain. In ODI cricket, you don’t want to be "English."

Ridding themselves of Cook and appointing someone like Eoin Morgan, or indeed anyone else, would see England, at least superficially, distance themselves from the idea that ODIs are short Test matches and bring them towards the mindset that they are long T20s. A paradigm shift long overdue and much needed. 

Cricket in England needs to shed its elitism. Giles Clarke saying that Alastair Cook comes from the “right kind of family,” per the BBC, just about sums up the image problem English cricket has with the general public. 

After the 2005 Ashes, cricket seemed to be breaking down the concept of it being a sport for the private school elite, and yet since then that trend has been reversed. Admittedly, cricket now being on Sky Sports and not Channel 4 doesn’t help, but the administration of the sport has exacerbated that problem. 

That England refuse to embrace the Indian Premier League is just another blatant example of how out of touch the nation’s administrators have become with the mood of the people. 

The landscape of world cricket is changing. International cricket is no longer the be all and end all and domestic T20 is growing in popularity and importance. 

The ECB need to insulate their financial futures by revamping the NatWest T20 Blast to generate a larger TV deal and ensure survival is possible without the vagaries of international cricket. 

Of course, the team needs to play well on the pitch, but if the ECB struggles financially it is unlikely they will be able to do so. Funding for academies and counties remains crucial to long-term success.