Kevin Pietersen, Bradley Wiggins and the issue of trust

Simply sighting ‘poor management’ on behalf of the ECB is not sufficient to explain the events of the last few months. Good management may solve problems in some cases, but in others it may not. Take, for instance, a marriage as a point of comparison – another relationship which, as already stated, relies on a backbone of trust.

Are there marriages which might be destroyed as a result of ‘provocative’ texts sent by one party? Almost certainly, yes. Does marriage counselling (arguably a form of management) always provide a successful solution? No! Might an issue be resolved initially, but then the underlying issues of mistrust between the parties cause a break up at a later date, even if there was no subsequent misdemeanour? Yes! And that is perhaps the most important point.

Indeed, this point may draw criticism from those who argue that a marriage can never be compared to a working relationship such as the one outlined. But in many respects, trust is even more important in professional sport. The scheduling of international cricket these days means that most of the players will spend more time with their team mates than they do with their partners or wives. Moreover, they are doing so in an incredibly intense, high-pressured environment. It perhaps took time to realise that despite the apparently successful ‘reintegration’ following 2012, the England management could not fully trust Pietersen after all.

The same might be argued for Wiggins and Froome. If Froome cannot entirely trust Wiggins, are the team not justified in selecting another rider who, while not being able to offer quite the allround ability Wiggins can, offers less chance of a catastrophic break up in team relations which Wiggins’ presence might?! The issue in this case is made simpler by the fact that Froome is at the peak of his powers and arguably does not need Wiggins at all, while the England cricket team are not in such a position of strength, and are thus more in need of a talent like Pietersen. Arguably Froome, who dominated the tour last year, has earned the right to have a team built in his name this summer. Then again, there is a certain irony that Wiggins was not afforded that luxury last year, despite having stormed to victory in 2012.

Bradley Wiggins

Ultimately, selectors are appointed to select. They are, very often, far more qualified than we are, and have access to the type of privileged information journalists and the general public do not. Paul Downton and his team at the ECB, along with Dave Brailsford and his team at Sky must therefore be trusted. If every selection or non-selection in professional sport were questioned in the way these issues have been, the result would lead to a grossly disproportionate focus on the politics and not the sport itself. Think of the number of athletes competing in London in 2012. Think of the number of marginal calls in terms of selection that were made. Many of these decisions have to be subjective. If you employ people to fulfil a certain role, they ought to be trusted to do that role.

The result of all this is a somewhat sad situation, as is the case with any break-up or divorce. It will ensure that English cricket fans are deprived of seeing Pietersen, while cycling fans won’t get to witness its country’s greatest all-round cyclist when the tour comes rolls through the country next month. The inevitable consequence is a sad one for the individuals involved too – Wiggins will almost certainly leave Team Sky, it is mooted for rival team Orica Greenedge, while Pietersen will effectively become just another T20 mercenary.

Yet it would be foolish for all concerned to simply suggest ‘better management’ is the answer to all of these problems. Team environments are complex places, full of egos and issues which it is impossible as an outsider to fully understand. In time, all will undoubtedly become clearer, but in the case of the Pietersen scenario, the very fact that both sides have been only too keen to leak disparaging claims about the other, along with the fact that a confidentiality agreement is needed in the first place is telling. What lies at the heart of the matter is a lack of trust. Bradley Wiggins will not line up in the tour, and Kevin Pietersen will not stride out in a test match this summer, not because they are not good enough to, but because their respective team leaders do not trust them to give their all.

Isaac Watts once said: ‘Learning to trust is one of life’s most difficult tasks’. Arguably you cannot learn to trust someone at all. They have to earn your trust. If both Alastair Cook and Chris Froome feel that the past actions of their (past) team mates means it will be impossible to trust them, it should help us to understand them and their decisions, even if we feel our trust in them as leaders has diminished as a consequence.