KEVIN PIETERSEN EXCLUSIVE

"HE would probably need to see one after he had spent some time with me." As given by the man himself, the reason Kevin Pietersen does not use a shrink. And you suspect he is only half-joking.

Shorn of bling, hair cropped neatly, this is a Pietersen unrecognisable from the young punk who strutted into the sporting consciousness four years ago.

That was KP Lite. This is heavy duty KP.

"It's been an incredible journey," he says. "It's been one that I have loved and it has come through a lot of hard work. There have been a lot of trials, a lot of tribulations along the way. The responsibility and the weight on my shoulders is pretty big now."

And it shows.

There's a seriousness about Pietersen, a wariness born out of such a long, unremitting stint in the spotlight. A product, perhaps, of the captaincy affair, its ramifications and the portrayal of Pietersen as self-obsessed.

He denies it. "I'm really happy. I was very unhappy in January, as you know. But right now, it's so good," he insists.

"The dressing-room is so so happy, we're all playing as a unit, enjoying each other's success, having great fun doing what we're doing."

Pietersen turned 29 last weekend but, mentally, has aged a decade since swaggering to the crease back in the summer of 2005, skunk hairdo peeking out of the helmet.

"I didn't really think how it would change my life," he says, reflecting on those epic events which culminated in the open-top bus ride.

"I've calmed down a lot. You mature, you grow, you take more responsibility. You grow as a person and I've certainly done that.

"You've got responsibility in the dressing-room, responsibility with the media, responsibility at home, with your families.

"But you've also got responsibility in looking after yourself, making sure you are in the right frame of mind to combat anything and keep yourself going."

HAIR-O - Kevin Pietersen celebrates on the open-top bus after winning the Ashes with England in 2005

Looking after yourself. That is where the ego confusion kicks in. Figjam, the Aussies tagged him: F*** I'm Good, Just Ask Me. And he is not shy of exuding a self-assured air.

"There's been increased pressure on me and my wicket. I totally understand that," he says. "That is because of the way I play and the player I am.

Barrage

"Against Australia, verbally, you get a barrage all the time - they call it mental disintegration. They try and get in your head.

"Sometimes I can't be bothered but occasionally it gets me going. Sometimes I really enjoy a big ding-dong. It sorts me out and gets me playing well."

The sledging certainly inspired him in 2005 - in every Test, right through to that final, history- making knock at The Oval.

But since then, such has been Pietersen's consistent brilliance - and England's inconsistency - that his attitude and demeanour have had to change.

He explains: "I don't think there was that much responsibility on my shoulders back then. I think I was out there to play a cavalier knock, to play the flamboyant knock, to be a risk-taker and be somebody who took the attack to the opposition.

"I certainly did that against Australia in the 2005 series. And it worked. But the more you play, the more mature you get, the more responsibility you have to the team.

"I've now played 52 unbroken Tests. That cavalier approach ... I've got to try and rein it in while making sure I still play the way I can. But it's not hard to do. I trust my instinct, I trust my preparation.

Comments

"In the last 12 to 24 months there has been a lot more pressure on me but I don't think it's the case any more because everybody else is doing a great job.

"Warne came out with some comments about England depending on me but in the last 12 months, you look at the stats - it's not that way any more. It's not been me, me, me."

His critics might see that as an unfortunate turn of phrase. But Pietersen's self-obsession is centred on his own performance. It seems based on a theory that a cricket team is 11 individuals. And that every individual has a duty to get the maximum from their game.

He explains: "Remember the haircut? That was silly. But I promise you it has never mattered what my hair looks like, never mattered what earrings I've got on, what watches I wear, what car I drive. Nothing interferes with how I train and how I practise."

And how he prepares for daunting challenges such as the one facing England - the one which starts in Cardiff on Wednesday. But that preparation does not include any mind-coaching.

"I don't use psychologists. They'd have to see one themselves after talking me," he laughs. "But the team has got one if the guys need to tap into him - it is quite useful.

Simple

"But I'm a simple person. I practise hard, I train hard and if I succeed in competition the following day, then I do. If I don't, I don't. As soon as I give myself an opportunity to blame my preparation, that's when I'm not being myself."

Warne has not been the only one to suggest Pietersen's success or failure will be England's success or failure.

And the first BIG domestic series since his removal as skipper will only sharpen the focus on one of this country's more controversial sporting stars.

But Pietersen maintains: "I don't feel any extra pressure. Touring India, for example, is really hard. But playing in England in front of your home crowds, against Australia, is amazing. It's something you look forward to ... not a pressure situation. I don't look at it nervously or anxiously - I just can't wait for it to get started.

"You're not going to get killed. You're just going to go out there, enjoy it and test yourself against the best players in the world."

There is a school of thought that suggests this Australian side is not, for a change, actually comprised of the best players in the world. Pietersen recoils at the suggestion.

"Some people might not be familiar with them but they beat South Africa in South Africa three months ago.

"This team is a fantastic cricket team. No one is going to underestimate them at all ... none of the people in our dressing-room, none of our management.

"This is going to be brutally tough competition and we're looking forward to that challenge. They are Australia and they are playing against England - it will be fierce.

Excited

"But the dressing-room is excited, happy and can't wait to get started because we know we can compete."

Several of the 2005 heroes will, of course, be absentees from that dressing-room. The most notable being Michael Vaughan, who is making his retirement speech as I sit with Pietersen looking out at a deserted Edgbaston.

MICHAEL VAUGHAN - tactical genius and good all-round guy

His tribute to Vaughan is fulsome. He says: "As a captain, Michael was a tactical genius and the way he portrayed himself to everybody - his calmness - was his greatest tool, his greatest weapon. Anything could be happening in a fixture and he had that poker face on. Nothing really fazed him.

"I've done the job for six months and I know how hard it is and how mentally it gets to you. So for him to do it so successfully for four or five years was phenomenal.

"He was trustworthy, honest and calm and taught you a lot about how to conduct yourself on the field and away from the field.

"He was pretty unfortunate to finish with a 41 average - he's a better player than that. He's just a good all-round guy."

And a guy who could have been taking to the field on Wednesday had Pietersen remained as skipper.

"Yeah, I wanted him to come on tour to the West Indies but then I wasn't captain - that got pulled away from me," he explains. "But I would have liked to have done that and things might have worked out differently."

A lot of things. Pietersen would have been skippering his adopted country in one of its greatest sporting series.

"That's long gone," he declares. "Now I'm back playing as a player for England, which is what I started doing and what I love.

"I love it. I love nothing more than doing the job I do."

And you have to believe him. Then again, I'm not a shrink.

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