Kevin Pietersen is ‘the best player to have ever played cricket for England’ according to Ashes-winning Test bowler Steve Harmison.
Pietersen, 37, announced his retirement at the weekend after deciding not to take part in the Pakistan Super League play-offs, ending a career in which he scored 23 centuries in 104 Test matches.
He walks away as England’s second-highest run scorer of all-time across all three formats of the game, despite being exiled from the national set-up following the divisive 2013/14 Ashes whitewash.
While his on-field brilliance was clear, Pietersen emerged as a divisive figure in the England dressing room, culminating in an announcement from the England and Wales Cricket Board in February 2014 that, at 33, he would no longer be considered for selection.
Harmison joined Darren Gough’s Cricket Week on talkSPORT 2 to react to news of his retirement, and said he hopes Pietersen will be remembered by fans for what he did on the pitch, rather that the controversy that peppered his career.
“It was a shame the way things ended for him in the England team,” said the Ashes winner.
“For me, he is the best player to have ever played cricket for England, certainly in my lifetime.
“I know that’s a massive shout, but he was a game-changer.
“I would like the cricket lovers in the country to celebrate what he did for the game, rather than some of the naughty stuff that’s been bandied about what he was.
“What he was, was a fantastic player.
“People ask me ‘why was he so good’ or ‘why do you speak well of him’?
“There was nobody fitter than Kevin, there was nobody stronger or mentally stronger than Kevin.
“When he practised, he practised with purpose. He was so single-minded and driven to practise exactly what he wanted to practice, to then go out on to the field and deliver.
“That’s why he was so good.”
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