Kevin Pietersen has been hailed as England's greatest ever batsman. He certainly played some of the greatest innings by anyone in a Three Lions shirt. He was an original too: his style of play was highly unorthodox, he popularised new strokes such as the switch-hit and he spoke about wanting to entertain the crowds. He was perfectly suited to the Twenty20 generation, but had the game to win Ashes Test matches as well as 20-over slogs. Unfortunately he also had a talent for getting into trouble. He spectacularly fell out with two England coaches, Peter Moores and Andy Flower, and also got through three county sides. His reign as England captain was cut short after just five months, he was dropped as a player in 2012 on disciplinary grounds and then, in February 2014, his international career was suddenly terminated as England looked to rebuild after a disastrous Ashes tour of Australia. He was accused of being 'disconnected' from team-mates.

Few sportsmen have polarised opinion to such an extent or aroused such passions. His supporters believed he was a misunderstood genius; his critics condemned him as a troublesome, self-obsessed maverick. In this revealing and sympathetic portrait, Simon Wilde attempts to unravel the mysteries of Pietersen: did he ever really feel accepted in his second home after controversially leaving South Africa at the age of 20? What impact did the loss of the England captaincy have on his subsequent behaviour? What made him tick? And why exactly was he such a divisive figure?.