Cricket Books

Pietersen recounts his time as an active sportsman in his youth, through to his frustration with the South African quota system which eventually made up his mind to leave for England, his desire to eventually play for his adopted country, his fall-out with Nottinghamshire, his incredible return to South Africa as an England player and of course the summer of 2005, where his confidence in his own ability paid off and he showed everybody just what Kevin Pietersen is made of.

There are also chapters dealing with the winter tours of Pakistan and India as well as the summer series against Sri Lanka where he established himself yet further with two more centuries. At no point in the book does he portray himself as someone afraid to speak his mind, and he certainly has some harsh words to dish out on some pretty big names in cricket.

But then, what did we expect from a book to which KP has put his name? His confidence jumps out at you from the pages, and when you discover just what he has had to go through, it suddenly begins to make a little more sense. Here is someone who is like he is because of what he's been through, and it is England's gain that he is.

At the end of most chapters, KP allows the likes of Clive Rice, Nasser Hussain and Ian Botham, amongst others, their chance to write about him. It's an interesting idea, and adds a different dimension – KP giving his critics the chance to bite back.

Summary

Pietersen concludes the book by noting that he hopes the best is yet to come. If that is the case, then he still has some story to write, but what he's already written here is certainly captivating and a good read. His refreshing honesty towards himself, and others is striking, and the detail into which he analyses his performances give us an insight to what makes such a top sportsman tick, and how he thinks in the heat of battle.

This is far from the worst of the post-Ashes cricket book boom, and for someone with quite a story to tell, it definitely crosses the boundary leaving those books that are made for the sake of it behind, and approaching the territory of those books which genuinely should be written.

   I concur JP !    I received this book for Christmas (it must've been on special!) and I've only just managed to finish it.   Hussein gives a real incite inot the modern game of cricket , both nationally and internationally.  Refreshingly honest and lacking in the usual cliches and platitudes , it confirms what most assessments of the man were - straightforward and someone who doesn't suffer fools gladly.
     No holds barred either , ex-players and administrators are laid bare and I particularly liked his sometimes brutal self-assessment - he admits to being a rather nasty piece of work at times!

    Highly recommended , on a par with Atheron's  "Opening Up".

Unfortunately, he is not on this forum now, is he?  Although, it might just be a matter of time.  We've already got the Dr. on board.