Make South Africa Great Again, Writes Kevin Pietersen After Loss To New Zealand

Kevin Pietersen might have played international cricket for England but his hearts seems to be with South Africa,  the country where he was born. The former England skipper penned down an emotional message for South Africa after they suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of New Zealand which has all but knocked them out of the tournament.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson played one of the great World Cup innings to steer his side to a six-wicket win in Birmingham. Needing eight to win from the final over, Williamson swept the second ball for six to all but finish the game. On the next delivery, he hit a four to keep New Zealand unbeaten in the World Cup.

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Earlier in the match, South Africa finished on a modest 241 for 6 in the allotted 49 overs. Fast-bowlers Lockie Ferguson took 3 for 59 while Rassie van der Dussen (67no off 64) and Hashim Amla (55 off 83) the only players to pass fifty. With their latest defeat, South Africa are effectively out of the tournament. With just 1 win from six games, the Proteas now need nothing less than a miracle to make it to the last four.

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And as they try to recover from yet another World Cup heartbreak, Kevin Pietersen has given his two cents on what they need to do further. He took to Instagram to write a long post on the steps that South Africa could take to recover. Pietersen advised that the Proteas need to take help from the former stalwarts for a brighter future.

“This is what sport does to South Africans – it UNITES!” Kevin Pietersen wrote before adding:

“To speak to so many friends there and hear how despondent they are about this Cricket World Cup makes me feel like a change is necessary. It’s time for the administrators to invest back in its HEROES & make them a part of their system. There needs to be aspirational individuals that kids idolise who coach them, manage them and help them grow.

“They need to be employed in the National Academy, the SA A teams & National team. Smith, Kallis, Ntini, Pollock, Boucher, Rhodes, Klusener etc. DON’T lose DeVilliers – kids idolise him! Use Tahir when he’s done now. Get Amla involved.  Just imagine being a kid growing up and trying to make it in cricket and your heroes are a part of your developement?! I have many more thoughts. Ego must be put to one side and uniting a fractured nation needs to be the priority! SPORT DOES THAT!

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“Make SA Cricket Great Again!” concluded Pietersen.

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This is what sport does to South Africans – it UNITES! To speak to so many friends there and hear how despondent they are about this Cricket World Cup makes me feel like a change is necessary. It’s time for the administrators to invest back in its HEROES & make them a part of their system. There needs to be aspirational individuals that kids idolise who coach them, manage them and help them grow. They need to be employed in the National Academy, the SA A teams & National team. Smith, Kallis, Ntini, Pollock, Boucher, Rhodes, Klusener etc. DON’T lose DeVilliers – kids idolise him! Use Tahir when he’s done now. Get Amla involved. Just imagine being a kid growing up and trying to make it in cricket and your heroes are a part of your developement?! I have many more thoughts. Ego must be put to one side and uniting a fractured nation needs to be the priority! SPORT DOES THAT! Make SA Cricket Great Again!

A post shared by Kevin Pietersen (@kp24) on Jun 19, 2019 at 10:53pm PDT