Iain Fletcher: Kevin Pietersen quitting hurts T20 event and England but new talent is there

England’s chances of defending their World Twenty20 title were severely damaged last week when Kevin Pietersen resigned from one-day international cricket. The rights and wrongs of the decision or breakdown in negotiations with the ECB could be argued forever with no satisfactory conclusion but what can be stated without question is that it is a great shame.

Pietersen is the No.1-ranked Twenty20 batsman in the world and will now not be present at the showpiece international tournament.

Indeed both the tournament and England will be poorer for his absence although, as ever with Pietersen, he will not be completely gone as his resignation allows him to play in the myriad domestic T20 tournaments across Asia and Australia during the winter.

He has given good service to England but will never quite shake the mercenary label and, indeed, so many of his words and deeds merely confirm the importance of money in his life.

Interestingly, the reaction from the dressing room has been one of apathy. They know what Pietersen is about and some may sympathise privately with his desire to make as much money as he can quickly as possible but what has been absent is any distress. He is an uncomfortable team-mate because he is so open about his own importance.

England have learned to accommodate certain foibles but a cursory chat across the shires where he has played county cricket reveals the general feeling that Pietersen is not a team man.

Selfish is frequently the call, but selfish and superb as well. He proved that again this winter with two scintillating centuries in the 50-over game that confirmed he can score and dominate in sub-continental conditions.

But someone needs to replace him at the top of the order. Jonny Bairstow perhaps, or Jos Buttler of Somerset. Both hit hard and clear the infield, which means boundaries, and both are whippets in the field. It also means Eoin Morgan becomes even more important to the side. His ability to hit in a 360 degree arc is so frustrating for opponents but he needs to bat plenty of overs in each match.

There are runs in the England side and plenty of talented youngsters who have grown up with T20 cricket. They have adapted shots and gameplans for their counties and now need to deliver such innovation and excellence for England. While Pietersen may be a loss, much of England’s good performances in the past 12 months have been based on superb bowling.

Coach Andy Flower has four months to redesign England’s gameplan and, chances are, it will rely on the firepower of Steven Finn, Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach, with wily spin from Graeme Swann and Samit Patel.

It was always going to be hard for England to defend the title of world champions and now it has got a little bit harder. But all is not lost. A group of young, hungry athletes with plenty of natural talent have an opportunity and, helpfully, the only pressure will come from themselves.