Kevin Pietersen: what's arrogance got to do with it?

Question

Kevin Pietersen is often criticised for his arrogance yet I remain completely uninformed as to why this should count against him in his cricketing career.

Does it make him less able to perform? I don't think so. Arrogance after all is closely linked to confidence, which is closely linked with success.

Does it have a negative impact on his colleagues? I don't think so. He is someone who can create an impression that opposition bowlers or indeed any bowler can be conquered.

What is most confusing though is the fact that so many people act surprised that a top international sportsman is capable of being arrogant. I'd have thought it normal that any sportsman whose talents set him apart from the crowd would develop arrogant behaviour. Some of course will hide it better than others or perhaps mask it with their charisma but take any top international sportsman and you're almost certain to be able to find a person who would describe them as arrogant.

What are your thoughts? :)

Answer 1

arrogance is in his nature

Answer 2

Hi Kinney,

I think all professional sportspeople need a touch of arrogance in them to succeed, however this arrogance must be managed and channeled in the right way.

Professional sportspeople get criticised by the public, and the athlete in question must be able to shrug off the public's comments and say to themselves something like 'well, what would they know', otherwise they would start worrying about their own game in such a way that would destroy them (in cricket this is known as Marcusosis) as a player as it would effect them so negatively that they wouldn't be able to perform well.

There is no doubt that Pietersen has the required arrogance to succeed, which is why he's had an overall successful start to his career, however I'm not convinced that his arrogance is managed in the correct way. People get the wrong idea sometimes when confident athletes like Pietersen portray their arrogance in the public eye and think he thinks he is bigger than the game for example but this is clearly not the case.

I agree that Pietersen's arrogance has no negative impacts on his, or England's game. If anything, it makes them more confident.

Answer 3

Expansive with the bat and explosive with the bombast, the South African-born Kevin Pietersen is not one for the quiet life. Pietersen, an enthusiastic, bold-minded and big-hitting No 5, first ruffled feathers by shunning South Africa - he was disenchanted with the quota system - in favour of England; his eligibility coming courtesy of an English mother. He never doubted he would play for England: he has self-confidence in spades but, fortunately, he has sackfuls of talent too. Sure enough, as soon as he qualified in September 2004, he was invited to tour Zimbabwe for that winter's one-dayers, where he averaged 104 in three innings. Success here earned him a late call into England's team against none other than South Africa in early 2005. Undeterred by hostile receptions from the home crowds, he announced his arrival - loudly, of course - with three centuries in five innings, and in doing so demonstrated his peerless eye for the ball and for making headlines, too. On reaching his maiden ton in the second ODI at Bloemfontein, he kissed his badge with unreserved fervour and afterwards announced his next ambition: getting a tattoo of three lions and his England number. Playing at Test level was next on the Pietersen to-do list, and, as a man who puts his money, if not always his mind, where his mouth is, it was only a matter of time. Overlooked for two Tests against Bangladesh, he made his debut against Australia at Lord's of all places, and responded with a pair of hard-hitting fifties in a losing cause. Six dropped catches in the series appeared to have dented his brash confidence, but with the series at stake, he once again showed his unswerving eye for the limelight by clubbing a phenomenal 158 on the final day at The Oval, to secure the draw that England needed for a first Ashes triumph in 18 years. First to congratulate him on his feat was Shane Warne, his good friend and captain at Hampshire, whom Pietersen had joined at the start of the season after three eventful and fractious years at Nottinghamshire. Unsurprisingly, that innings proved hard to live up to, but astonishingly Pietersen managed it, clubbing two more big hundreds in his next two Test innings in England, the second of which - against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston - included a remarkable reverse-sweep for six off Muttiah Muralitharan. In Australia the following winter, he once again lived up to his reputation with hard-earned runs, but his tour ended in disappointment when he flew home with a fractured rib, courtesy of Glenn McGrath after the first match of the CB Series. While England's World Cup was a miserable failure for the team it was a personal success for Pietersen who hit two centuries - including his first ODI ton in a winning cause against West Indies - and confirmed his role as England's leading batsman. His dominance continued against West Indies with a majestic 226 at Headingley - finally beating his previous 158, a score he had made three times previously. It was the highest score by an England batsman since Graham Gooch's 333, and his march towards greatness continued. But then followed the inevitable dip - 10 innings without so much as a fifty - before he bounced back with an uncharacteristically backs-to-wall 129 in England's third Test against New Zealand in Napier.

Answer 4

I don't think KP is arrogant, I think he has a lot of self confidence and a lot of belief in his own abilities, he's no different from any other sportsman in that regard. I don't know why he is singled out for it on a consistent basis when all athletes have that attitude. They have to have that belief really, otherwise they wouldn't succeed and I think it would be ludicrous for any professional sportsman to be unsure of what they're doing when they play (or believing that they won’t score a decent amount of runs every game). There's nothing wrong with playing the game that way as long as you can back it up with the results. KPs self-confidence often gets wrongly construed as arrogance and it obviously it has a detrimental effect on the way he is viewed both in and outside of the sport.

I agree with Kookee when he said that KPs self-confidence has a slightly negative effect on the rest of the team. I think they’ve gotten into the habit of believing that if they fail then KP will be able to rescue them, it’s the same with Flintoff and his bowling. It’s a very negative way to play the game and we can only guess as to how it effects the way KP plays (personally I think it has a negative effect as he can’t play his naturally aggressive way when he has to save an innings).

Anyway like I said there is nothing wrong with the way KP plays the game and there is nothing wrong with his attitude.

Answer 5

I don't think Kevin Pietersen is arrogant.

Arrogance is defined as having an over-exaggerated sense of your own ability.

Pietersen is certainly very well aware of his own abilitities, and is not reticent about letting everyone know about them.

He has the talent to back up his claims.

I would describe Pietersen is a very confident young man, with a lot of self belief, and a burning desire not just to do well, but to improve himself. He works immensely hard at his game, takes pride in his performances, and is never content to rest on his laurels.

It may irritate some people that he constantly talks about how good he is, but there is no law to say that top sportsmen, as a matter of course, need to be modest about their talent. It is not something to be ashamed of. If he wants to shout it from the rooftops, good luck to him, provided he can substantiate his claims about himself.

Answer 6

I agree

In the past (mostly 90's and early 00's) England players have been criticized for looking like they are going to be beat just by looking at there body language. Players were criticized for having no self-belief! and i dont believe Pietersen is "Arrogant" i think he has a huge amount of self belief which is an amazing attribute for a cricketer to have.

Without this self-belief would he have made that magical 158 against the Aussies in the 5th test at the Oval? Some of the shots he played, and some of the obstacles he had to overcome in that innings were unbelivable, not many players can play that match winning innings in the most important game of your life! BUT i bet KP knew he could!

I think it has a slight negative effect on the rest of the team, IMO the England players rely on KP's magic too much. Just because KP believes he can produce the match winning innings every time he comes out to bat, doesnt mean his team mates should think "dont worry KP will get us out of this situation"

I totally agree on your last point, when i play for my club! i can be pretty arrogant (yeah i know what a suprise lol), KP has developed an aura in the last 3 years, now some bowlers before even facing KP have no clue where to bowl to him, because KP is arrogant enough to just shuffle accross his crease and whip it to the boundary!

KP's arrogance is good for the game, its unbelivable what people are moaning about these days, Belly was criticized for being too "Timid" and now KP is being criticized for being too arrogant!

Tut Tut

Answer 7

I agree..although we are not lovers of that type of behaviour it is needed by top class sportsmen..the British are let down in all sports by a inbuilt "niceness."...winners usually aren't nice..!

..(We could also do with a captain with more balls..!!..)

Answer 8

I think KP is a brittle peanut that should be crushed! Listen, I know Kevin Pietersen is mighty talented as he has proven but his arrogance will effect his cricketing career. Why do you think South Africa kicked him out of the national team and still don't want him back? Cricket is a fantastic sport that should be played for fun with competitiveness and sportsmanship of course representing your nation in the good way! One last thing I hate about him the most him thinking that he owns the world, that he is the all mighty king!!!

Answer 9

i think hes fine,,,,  and as you say its more like a confidence thing,,, as he wants  the opposition to know  hes ready for them , and there gonna find it hard to get at him,,, ..i also see this in  Sehwag  of lately he looks very confident and slightly even cocky .and hes playing great cricket at the moment and hes dictating to the bowlers

  IF you wanna see arrogance and cockyness  look at American boxer  "FLOYD MAYWEATHER"  thing he is also  unbeaten and prob the best boxer in the world

.lols aloud

Answer 10

There is something different in champion players. Viv Richards appeared like that. Kevin Pietersen exudes a different kind of demeanour which can be described by others as arrogant. This is geniusness in action. He dominates bowlers from the word 'go'. Batsmen like Compton and Boycott can be compared to him. He also happens to be the best batsman of the current English team.

Answer 11

Who is Kevin Peitersen?

Answer 12

because his arrogance sometime takes over, and then he bats without any intelligence. thats his downfall

Answer 13

Arrogance has nothing to do with it.

People cannot criticize him for any other reason and so they will use this criticism as they are in reality either jealous or they simply do NOT like the man.

Simply put we have to find some thing wrong with someone or something we dislike.

Answer 14

Kevin Pierersen is a good player but looking at how South Africa are getting on right now, looks like they don't miss him all that much.

Mind you I doubt very much he misses South Africa!

Answer 15

There's nothing wrong with KP's arrogance. In cricket there are 11 fielders and 2 batsmen on the field. You need to be able to stand up for yourself. He can turn a game with his batting. He can destroy bowlers averages. Sometimes it can be is downfall but thats part of the excitement he brings to cricket. Good on ya KP I say!!!!

Answer 16

You may or may not know this,but there is an international cricket team who are from a huge wasteland more commonly known as Australia,and some might call them arrogant.Now to the best of my knowledge they have had more than their fair share of success in the past two decades

Answer 17

NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM, THIS IS HIS NATURE AND AGGRESSIVENESS IS GOD FOR CRICKET BUT UNDER CONTROL.

Answer 18

This also disturbs me. Not just because of Pietersen, but any player. So long as they do the job on the field who cares what their personality is like? It's when they use that character trait to walk all over others I start to get irritated. But I'm sure Kevin isn't guilty of that!lol