Why Pietersen will add unfiltered challenge that England need - Finn

I was as surprised as most that Kevin Pietersen has joined the England coaching ranks as a mentor in the build-up to the 50-over World Cup in South Africa next autumn. Not only was his last interaction with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sitting in the offices at Lord's being told he wouldn't play for England again in 2014, but the success of his YouTube channel, The Switch, and the time it takes to commit to something like that made it seem inconceivable that it could work. However, when I took a step back to remember what it was like to share a dressing room with him at the beginning of my England career, I remembered a number of occasions that lead me to believe this can only be a good thing for all parties. Kevin can be blunt and forthright, but dressing rooms need that in order to function properly. They can't be an echo chamber. On the white-ball tour of India last year, while working for the host broadcaster, he was bemoaning the lack of practice, external that England's players had opted for in the build-up to games. His practice was always intense and with purpose. Usually, he would come up to me as he was walking into the net and say he was going to smash me everywhere and not get out. That would usually rile me up to try to bowl quicker in order to not let him have it his way. He wanted to make sure the practice had that bit more on it, something that is important when steeling your mind and reactions to go out and play at the highest level. I used to enjoy the battles in the nets and it made me a better bowler . We'd constantly be arguing about what angle the fielders were when he was deciding how many runs he'd scored off that ball, or whether I thought it could have gone to hand when he hit it in the air. England v Sri Lanka, first T20 Tuesday, 15 September at BST Follow ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Sports and the BBC Sport website and app. Live text updates and in-play video clips on the website and app. Extended highlights on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from BST. Kev was ahead of his time with both his mindset and skills. The inventor of the switch hit, and the most ardent supporter of the IPL before it became mainstream.