Burn-out fears as exhausted KP takes flight

He has hit the wall and admits: "I need a break — desperately."

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By playing in every competition going, in every form of cricket for England for so long, he has given all he has to give. And by reluctantly admitting to being as susceptible to fatigue as the next man, the 27-year-old has revived widespread fears about burn-out among the world's over-worked leading players.

If any further evidence were needed that congested schedules erode talent, this is it. While Hampshire's Ashes- winning batsman has blazed a trail in international cricket since his introduction in 2005, rarely letting his standards slip, the runs have been less abundant in recent weeks.

During the course of two Twenty20 matches and a 2-1 NatWest Series defeat against the West Indies, the middle order talisman scored 16, 19, 33, nine and a duck. More of a blip than a crisis, but the upshot was that he slipped back to No 2 in the ICC's one-day world batting rankings.

And so Pietersen, and his pop star bride-to-be, Jessica Taylor, are heading abroad, with the blessing of England coach Peter Moores. His intention is to report for duty in London next week ahead of the first npower Test against India, having regained some of his old zest.

"I'm mentally fatigued — really, really tired," he said yesterday. "It was a long winter of Champions Trophy, then the Ashes, then the World Cup. I rattled into the West Indies series but got progressively worse, more and more tired.

"That's why I have to make the most of these little windows of opportunity for a proper rest. So we're going out of this country, I'm going to turn my mobile off and enjoy waking up knowing I don't have to play cricket or do a gym session."

Addressing the broader burn-out issue, which is stalking the international game, Pietersen added: 'I'm not a robot. This is probably not going to be the last time this happens, with the schedules we've got. All I can hope is that it doesn't happen around an Ashes series.

"We have a new regime under a new coach and it's difficult for him to say, 'All right KP, have a month off'. That's totally understandable so I just have to manage the situation as best I can."

Pietersen's mini-lull of late could easily have created doubts in a normally ultra- positive mind. But he insisted that his renowned confidence has not been affected because there is no evidence of gremlins creeping into his game.

"I don't need to work on anything," he said. "Fatigue is the only reason. I haven't been getting out in a similar fashion, so it's not as if I'm out of form, being bowled every innings or nicking off every time.

"People were writing the other day that I could be the first person to score 1,000 Test runs in a summer. Just a month later, everyone is saying, 'He's batting like a muppet'. But you do have glitches. Even legends have quiet times."

Pietersen was one of the more predictable names in England's provisional 30-man squad — announced yesterday — for the inaugural Twenty20 world championship.

Yet, despite having a batting style seemingly custom-made for crash, bang, wallop cricket, he is scathing about both his approach to it and his exploits thus far.

"I'm rubbish at Twenty20," he said, without a hint of sarcasm. "I haven't taken it as seriously as I could do or should do. I just see it as a relaxing, fun game. But the world championship will be massive, so hopefully that should make me take it seriously."

The tournament will take Pietersen back to the land of his birth, South Africa. His first trip there with England two years ago was notable for constant abuse from the stands.

This time, he feels he could escape the wrath of the locals, who will have bigger — or, at least, more familiar — fish to fry.

"I'll be hiding behind (bowling coach) Allan Donald walking through the airport, because he's going to get a lot more abuse than me this time," said Pietersen.

"He is more South African than I am. He has played for South Africa, he is a legend in South Africa, but he'll have an England blazer on."

However, Pietersen is unlikely to escape entirely unscathed. He must hope that when the muck is hurled his way, he can summon up the energy to respond in fitting fashion, with a torrent of runs, just as he did last time.

Kevin Pietersen was talking at the launch of the Oakley Eye-Q Campaign. For more information about UV eye protection go to: www.oakley.com/innovation