Pietersen open to Ashes mentor role after approach from Fleming

Former England batter tempted by chance to work with Test squad in interim capacity

Kevin Pietersen is weighing up an approach from Stephen Fleming to extend his new ECB role into Test cricket ahead of next summer's Ashes, and said on Thursday night that the England white-ball environment under Brendon McCullum is "completely different" to his preconceptions.

McCullum called Pietersen last month to gauge his interest in a short-term, consultancy role as England's white-ball mentor. He will be involved on an "in-and-out" basis through to next year's 50-over World Cup in southern Africa, and has worked closely with England's batters in their ongoing series against Sri Lanka.

Pietersen revealed after Sri Lanka's ODI series-levelling win at Headingley on Thursday that he has also spoken to Fleming, England's new Test coach, about the prospect of working with the red-ball team - and that while his schedule would not allow a full-time role, he hopes to have some influence on December's tour to South Africa and before the 2027 Ashes.

In his first media interaction since taking on his new position, Pietersen also said that:

He assumed he was "in trouble" when McCullum called him

Harry Brook, England's white-ball captain, is "a joke" and has "frightening" potential

England have "a lot of work to do" to compete at next year's 50-over World Cup

The controversial end to his own England career is "long gone"

Pietersen has worked primarily as a broadcaster since his retirement from playing, but also has several business interests and launched a successful YouTube channel - The Switch - earlier this year. He said that it would be difficult for him to commit much more time to coaching, but confirmed that he has spoken to Fleming about working with England's Test batters.Pietersen believes he can unlock Brook's 'frightening' potential•Philip Brown/Getty Images

He said that he would be unavailable towards the end of the Ashes next summer - "I go to Africa and get away with animals for three or four weeks" - and that his "pretty mad schedule" would be an obstacle. But he has already spoken to some players about Test batting, and will do so around winter white-ball tours to Australia (three ODIs, five T20Is) and South Africa (three ODIs).

"I have had a conversation with Stephen Fleming, but I don't think that necessarily means that I need to be in a dressing-room," Pietersen said. "There's a lot of time in the lead-up to an Ashes series; there's a lot of time in the lead-up to the tour of South Africa now, where I'm going to be with the Test batters in Australia, and there's conversations that can be had there.

"Inside a tournament, I can't do anything. There's nothing I can do. But I've certainly had a conversation with Flem - who I absolutely love - about language that he would like me to use with the Test batters going into, say, South Africa, and then certainly into the summer next year. But I don't think I can commit to a lot more time."RelatedKevin Pietersen makes shock England return as specialist white-ball mentor

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Among those Test batters is Brook, England's white-ball captain. Pietersen was frustrated last year by Brook's decision to withdraw from his contract with Delhi Capitals - where Pietersen spent the 2025 season as a mentor - and told Cricinfo he could have helped him fix a "real big flaw" against spin. But his main advice to him has been tactical, not technical.

"Where I can help him is situations, playing situations, because there was a lot of method in my madness when I played," Pietersen said. "There was a lot of strategy in the way that I approached batting. Yes, occasionally I got out to reckless shots and crazy shots in the 80s and 90s and stuff, but actually, there was a lot of structure to the way that I batted.

"I've still got notes on my phone on how I played in T20 cricket, one-day cricket, Test match cricket, about hitting straight back at the stumps, techniques… That all-round structure is something I could potentially help him with, because he's so flipping good. He's a joke, how good he is. It's actually frightening how good he is, and how good he can be."

Pietersen's return to the England fold came as a shock for two reasons: firstly, the controversial end to his own international career, owing to what Andrew Strauss described as a "complete breakdown in trust"; and secondly, his outspoken criticism of the England set-up under McCullum, most notably on a white-ball tour to India early last year.Pietersen at training during England's white-ball series against Sri Lanka•Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

To that end, he was taken aback when McCullum first approached him. "I thought I was in trouble," Pietersen said, grinning. "It took a couple of weeks of conversations with him to be able to convince me that it was something that I wanted to do, because the perception [that I had] wasn't actually the reality that I now know of what's downstairs in that dressing-room.

"I'm very, very happy that I did take up the role because it gives me a way, way, way happier perspective on where English cricket actually is.

"You've got a young bunch of guys here that are absolutely driven to be successful, and you've got Baz who is hellbent on making sure that we're the fittest, strongest, most adaptable team, and he is on an absolute path to make sure that we are competitive next year."

On the end of his international career, Pietersen said: "I'm 46, man. That stuff's so long gone. I'm a completely different person, too… I'm just here to help Brendon, first and foremost. I'm here to help the players try to become the best versions of themselves."

Pietersen also played down expectations of England's prospects at next year's World Cup. He is set to be involved in their campaign in South Africa and said that his local knowledge will enable him to "assist in many different ways" but acknowledged that they have work to do in 50-over cricket, where they are ranked seventh in the world by the ICC.

"It would be amazing if we can achieve success, but I'm not sitting here saying, 'We want to win the World Cup,'" he said. "We want to be competitive next year in South Africa, and I think that's the game.

"We've got a very successful T20 team. We know we're not as successful in the one-day format, so over the next 12 months, we have to work our absolute backsides off, day and night, in every single country that we're in to get better every single day."