Ep5
Transcript
00:00You've only got two options.
00:03Yeah.
00:04Kevin Peterson, 100-odd test matches, 8,000 test match runs, ruffled a few feathers, annoyed
00:09a few people, or Kevin Peterson played another three or four years like you could have done,
00:14got your head down, didn't upset people, and have a longer career.
00:20You go through everything that we've achieved in English cricket, and Peterson is right
00:24at the forefront.
00:25I'm a team player.
00:26The first time I've ever heard that, to be honest.
00:29I think he'll be remembered as a slightly divisive character that fell out with people,
00:33but by God, could he play the game of cricket.
00:36You're under pressure, aren't you?
00:40He could have got 40, 50, 100s.
00:41He was that good.
00:42He could have averaged 75, 80.
00:43Captain England now raking Kevin Peterson's bunker.
00:46Brilliant.
00:47How many players now are trying to play like Kevin Peterson?
00:52All of them.
01:0050 for Kevin Peterson in his very first test match innings.
01:06It's been quite an innings, too.
01:12Beautiful shot.
01:14In 2014, and with nearly 14,000 runs to his name, Peterson's international career came
01:20to an acrimonious end.
01:23Love him or loathe him, there's no doubt he has left his mark on English cricket.
01:29There's something about Kevin, there really is.
01:3423 test match 100s.
01:36What would you have as your best 100 that you played for England?
01:41The best 100 from a mental perspective and from a physical perspective was my 150 I got
01:47in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
01:51Well, an extraordinary shot.
01:53Call it what you will.
01:54It's another boundary to Kevin Peterson.
01:56I sweat profusely.
01:58I mean, I'm just a sweater, unlike Cookie, who doesn't sweat.
02:01And I'd toured Sri Lanka before and I think 40 was my top score and I always thought to
02:05myself, I said, there's no way in this world you could score more than 40.
02:08And we went on that tour and I just thought, if I'm going to get runs here, I'm going
02:11to have to slog 100.
02:13And I went through nine pairs of gloves, five shirts in a session and a half and got 150.
02:17Just anything that was anywhere near giving it a full kitchen sink.
02:23Massive moment for Kevin Peterson.
02:26Extraordinary innings from an extraordinary player.
02:29I think the 100 that I got against South Africa in the first test match as captain was something
02:33that I treasure.
02:37First match as captain and he gets a century.
02:40Everything is so sweet at the moment.
02:43The 100 against Australia, that 158 at the Oval was probably the most famous of all the
02:48100s.
02:53That's it.
02:54The arms are aloft.
02:55Ball through extra cover signals Kevin Peterson's first Test 100.
02:59What a performance.
03:02England have not won the Ashes for 19, 20 years.
03:05So the Oval, I think, for what it meant to English cricket, having not won the Ashes
03:09for so long, yeah, that's right up there.
03:11This could yet be the biggest day of his career.
03:16That lad you first met in South Africa, did you think then he would end up the cricketer
03:21he is now?
03:22No, absolutely no chance.
03:24But the driven self-belief, knowing what he wants out of life, he goes and gets it.
03:29It's ridiculous what he's gone and done.
03:31And now he's trying to change the world on wildlife and poaching.
03:36Would it surprise me if he becomes a huge world figure in conservation?
03:40No, it wouldn't surprise me at all because that's what he wants.
03:43He believes he can be the man who's responsible for stopping killing of animals.
03:51Will he be able to do it?
03:52Kevin Peterson won't stop until the world knows what he's trying to do.
04:02These days, KP splits his time between England and South Africa,
04:06where he has become heavily involved in conservation,
04:09raising money and awareness for endangered animals, especially the rhino.
04:16It's something you should be pretty proud of.
04:18You are, dude.
04:19You know, you copped a lot of stick over the years, let's put it that way,
04:22but not for this.
04:23This is something that people give you a lot of credit for, and rightly.
04:26When you actually get up close and personal to the animal
04:29and you see the devastation as to what dead bodies,
04:32and you smell the smell,
04:34and you walk in and you see where,
04:36I mean, two weeks ago I walked into two rhino that had just been killed.
04:40Bullets through, they chopped the head off.
04:42I mean, the smell.
04:45Oh.
04:47It is something that just sticks with you.
04:49When you see that, it's emotional.
04:51There's just an attachment to it.
04:53And that's why these events that we hold
04:55where I get all my influential friends and all the guys
04:58with all the cash in the world to come in
05:00because these guys can make a difference.
05:02They make big decisions.
05:04They can create awareness.
05:06And I want them to have that emotional,
05:08spiritual sort of effect with nature and with the bush.
05:13And we're making big strides,
05:15like huge strides to stopping this.
05:17Let's get the elephant chair.
05:27One person we haven't spoken much about is Jess.
05:29How important has she been
05:31in everything that's gone on in your life?
05:33Unbelievable.
05:35I think it helped so much that she was
05:37a lot more famous at the time that we met.
05:39They had achieved so much.
05:41She understands the travel.
05:43She understands the media.
05:45She understands the role that you play
05:47when you're in the public eye.
05:49But she's been nothing short of incredible.
05:51And then the mum that she is,
05:53I mean, I could not ask for anything better.
05:55We live a very private life.
05:57We're incredibly private people.
05:59We don't go and post any images
06:01all over social media of our family.
06:03We just don't do it.
06:05It's a decision you have to make.
06:07Am I going to sell my soul?
06:10Where we can escape to anywhere in the world
06:12and no one can ever point a finger at us
06:14if I want my privacy respected.
06:16And that's the decision we've taken as a family.
06:25How will he be remembered, Kevin Peterson?
06:27I think he'll be remembered
06:29as an entertainer,
06:31as a player of great flair.
06:35Very dynamic.
06:37Somebody who perhaps changed the face
06:39of Test cricket within England
06:41for a while.
06:43But also with that will come
06:45the way that it ended,
06:47which was very sour.
06:49That great team that went to number one in the world
06:51fell apart amidst great recrimination.
06:53So that will be part of the legacy as well.
07:01At his peak, he was sensational.
07:03He was a superstar.
07:05I mean, he even managed to knock the London Olympics
07:07here in 2012 when the whole
07:09Texgate thing exploded.
07:11You have to be a special talent for that to happen,
07:13even if it was a negative story.
07:17You go through everything that we've achieved
07:19and everything that we talk about generally
07:21in English cricket,
07:23and Peterson is right at the forefront.
07:25So as much as he is a
07:27difficult character,
07:29as much as he's a prat at times,
07:3150-50 I'd say.
07:3350% of the time he's a fantastic
07:3550% of the time he's a prat.
07:37But, I'd buy into that
07:39because I know he's going to win me games.
07:41He came out with a great line
07:43on commentary.
07:45Hi folks, my name's Kevin Peterson
07:47and you better believe it.
07:49Does that really sum him up?
07:51Yeah, I think
07:53when he walked out, he almost
07:55gave you the, right,
07:57it's my turn now,
07:59pay attention. It's the announcing.
08:01It's me now.
08:03Things have been in, yeah, that's alright.
08:05But now I'm going to go to town.
08:09I'll remember him as
08:11the guy who's played
08:13most of the memorable
08:15innings that I was involved in
08:17with the English cricket team.
08:19Some of the things he did on the pitch
08:21were without peer completely.
08:25And I think that's the way he'll be remembered actually.
08:27I think he'll be remembered as a slightly
08:29divisive character that fell out with people
08:31but by God could he play
08:33the game of cricket.
08:39Well what does KP
08:41do nowadays to keep his competitive
08:43juices flowing? Well he's
08:45a member here at the Leopard Creek Golf Club,
08:47one of the great golf courses in the world.
08:49Typical KP.
08:51And he's playing this week in the Alfred Dunhill
08:53Pro-Am with some other big names.
09:01OK Ness actually.
09:03What do you play off? Up left six.
09:05Is it like your batting?
09:07You're right to left, everything goes
09:09leg side? It's like my batting.
09:11If there's a green to attack
09:13I go for the green.
09:15I don't lay up Ness.
09:17I don't lay up at all.
09:19Ernie, first things first, what do you think of Peterson
09:21the golfer? You know since he's
09:23retirement, he's better.
09:25I mean he's got more time on his hands for his
09:27golf game. The thing with you cricket
09:29guys, you know you've got that
09:31in-out motion, you know, hitting it
09:33through the covers, and we go the other
09:35way in golf. What about now, do people
09:37of South Africa look at him and are very proud
09:39of what he's done? What he's doing now
09:41is incredible, you know with his conservation,
09:43with the rhino stuff. Whenever you
09:45give something back to your home
09:47country, people
09:49warm to you again, and they've really done that
09:51in a big way.
09:54It's a good start.
09:58We're in play.
10:00What's your chipping skills like?
10:02I'm going to tell you in about a second.
10:07You're right under pressure, aren't you?
10:13Birdie putt, he's going ahead of Grace here,
10:15he's got no golf etiquette at all.
10:17Brendan Grace is the pro, he should be going
10:19here. Peterson beats
10:21Peterson. I'll go first. Birdie, birdie,
10:23birdie.
10:25Surely can't miss this.
10:38Yes!
10:40I just love that. I'm a team
10:42player.
10:44That's the first time I've ever heard that,
10:46to be honest.
10:49Some would argue that
10:51Peterson could have been, and should have been, even
10:53better. He definitely could have been better.
10:55His record could have been better, 100%,
10:57because he had people
10:59eating out the palm of his hand and he'd give it away
11:01often. But I think Kevin was
11:03very tuned into proving
11:05himself. I don't think he was
11:07necessarily as tuned in
11:09to being the best player
11:11in the world as Coley or someone like that.
11:13So it was more about
11:15I'm going to demonstrate to
11:17whoever it might be, this bowler who thinks he's
11:19good, this captain who thinks he's good,
11:21this team who think they're good,
11:23I can do this and I'm better than you.
11:25A special day for him, a presentation just
11:27now of a special cap
11:29to mark that 100th test match.
11:31He averaged 47 in test cricket,
11:33over 100 tests. 40
11:35in one-day cricket, just under 40 in T20
11:37cricket. And the Jeffrey boycotts
11:39us, oh yeah, but if you just dug in.
11:41But what happens if he'd have tried a dig in at the start
11:43and his technique, because his technique wasn't
11:45great. He didn't have an ultimately
11:47pure technique, but he had great
11:49mind, great hands. Could he have averaged
11:5155? Yes, possibly.
11:53But if he'd have tried the bat that way,
11:55he may have averaged 40.
11:57An average of 47, but
11:59it's more the manner of the way that
12:01he played and scored those 8,000
12:03test runs, because I don't remember
12:05many of them being boring.
12:07He's got a hold of that, alright.
12:09Where's that one gone?
12:11Alistair Cooke got knighted
12:13for services to cricket. Alistair Cooke
12:15has been eulogised as the
12:17greatest batsman of his generation.
12:19Alistair Cooke's test match average
12:21is lower than Kevin Peterson's.
12:23So yeah, I'm sure Kevin could have done
12:25better. He didn't do badly.
12:29He could have got 40, 50, 100. He was that good.
12:31He could have averaged 75, 80.
12:33Too much energy went in.
12:35Too much energy went into trying to usurp
12:37the power base of the captain and the coach
12:39and the things he didn't like and
12:41**** that he didn't need to worry about.
12:43Just score hundreds, Kev.
12:45Don't be a ****.
12:59Get that spot right behind it, like an inch,
13:01and just hit that as hard as you can.
13:05Well done.
13:11After a shot like that,
13:13I'll rake it. No, no, no, this is the highlight
13:15of my career.
13:17Captain England now raking
13:19Kevin Peterson's bunker.
13:25Do you feel privileged doing things like this
13:27or do you take it for granted now?
13:29I always feel privileged because
13:31it's not my sport and you're walking
13:33out to play golf with
13:35Ells, with Gracie here,
13:37all these guys. It's like somebody
13:39to come into that with lords, with us.
13:41And does it make all those sacrifices that you
13:43made all those years ago, all the hard work,
13:45the professionalism, the moving away from here,
13:47does it make it feel all worthwhile?
13:49Because the lifestyle you have now is wonderful,
13:51isn't it? I just try and be happy
13:53because I was so unhappy for a few years.
13:55All I want to do is try and be happy
13:57and stay happy.
14:03When you played cricket,
14:05you used to have a go at the golfers,
14:07didn't you? What are you going off and playing golf for?
14:09Golf's the most boring game in the world.
14:11What's changed? They call it the golf bug
14:13and I've got the golf bug.
14:15Is it a way of keeping your competitive juices
14:17flowing? Massively. After a career
14:19in cricket, how competitive do you get on the
14:21golf course? I get competitive with myself
14:23but I
14:25understand and know that I'm never going to make
14:27money out of the game. I'm going to have fun
14:29with my mates and so I don't
14:31take it too seriously. Is that you
14:33having a chip over a bunker, by the way?
14:35Let's see if you've got it in you, Peterson.
14:37Impossible
14:39shot.
14:41Impossible.
14:43Oh my word.
14:47Can you get my putter, please?
14:49I just raked a bunker
14:51for you.
14:53Boys, come
14:55and have a look at this. This is why
14:57this place is just so special.
14:59Check the hippos up. They're up the water.
15:01Have a look at the size of that crocodile
15:03there. Crikey.
15:05Look at the size of that thing.
15:07You get that on the Chelmsford
15:09golf course as well, to be honest.
15:11Bit of croc, bit of hippo.
15:13I mean, it's just such a special place.
15:15More importantly,
15:17can you hold a putt for
15:19Birdie? Let's see.
15:21Putty!
15:23That
15:25is how you play,
15:27bud.
15:29That disappoints me.
15:31This is a very disappointing
15:33result.
15:35What do you think
15:37South Africans think of
15:39Kevin Peterson, the person, the player,
15:41now?
15:43He doesn't encounter animosity,
15:45that's for sure. That's all gone.
15:47I mean, there's respect for his cricketing ability
15:49There's still, in South Africa,
15:51a good deal of skepticism about
15:53the man, the person.
15:55He is, Kevin Peterson, the English cricketer
15:57and always will be in South Africa.
15:59Half of them would say
16:01they don't like him.
16:03And the other half would say, we've been entertained
16:05by him and he's a damn fine cricketer.
16:07Doesn't that sum up the man?
16:09Doesn't he polarise opinion more than any other
16:11cricketer there's been? Absolutely.
16:13I'd love him to remain
16:15in South Africa and future
16:17I'd love him to remain in South Africa
16:19and he could have delivered those performances
16:21betting with the likes of A.B. de Villiers. I mean, can you
16:23imagine having de Villiers and Peterson coming in
16:25in the middle order? My goodness, I would have loved that.
16:33Where do you rate Kevin Peterson?
16:35Number one, he's the best
16:37England player that I've seen.
16:39I always describe Marcus Driscothic
16:41as the best Englishman I've ever played with.
16:43But Peterson's the best player I've ever played with
16:45in England. I thought he was a genius.
16:47I loved him.
16:49The best.
16:51The best I've had the pleasure of being
16:5322 yards away from.
16:57Top.
16:59How many players now are trying to play like
17:01Kevin Peterson? All of them.
17:03You cannot compare
17:05to a Gooch or a Cook.
17:07Guys who go out at the top against guys
17:09who bat 4-5 in the middle with very different
17:11roles, very different tasks.
17:13If you want to compare K.P. with the middle
17:15order dashers that I've
17:17seen for England over the last 30 years,
17:19as good as any of them.
17:27It's going to be my final question.
17:29You've only got two options.
17:31Kevin Peterson, 100-odd test matches,
17:338,000 test match runs,
17:35ruffled a few feathers, annoyed a few people,
17:37wound up a few people,
17:39fell out with a lot of people,
17:41but played the way he did with the odd dumb slog
17:43millionaire shot.
17:45Kevin Peterson played
17:47another 3 or 4 years like you could have done,
17:49played the game, got your head
17:51down, didn't upset people,
17:53and have a lot longer
17:55career. Can we say a mixture of
17:57the two and played for a couple years longer?
17:59I think you're right. Your personality
18:01made you the cricketer you were.
18:03I think my personality did.
18:05Four Ashes wins. And a World Cup.
18:07And what were you in that World Cup?
18:09Player of the tournament?
18:11Player of the tournament.
18:13More importantly, my son was born in the middle
18:15of that tournament, and I was able to
18:17hop back to London and go and see him.
18:19You were very watchable, Capey.
18:21Thanks, Nes.
18:27In 2005, at this
18:29famous old cricket ground,
18:31Kevin Peterson played arguably his
18:33and England's most important
18:35ever innings.
18:37The brash boy from Peter Maritzburg
18:39went on to become one of the most
18:41talented and watchable sportsmen
18:43ever to represent England.
18:47No matter what side of the
18:49KP debate you are on,
18:51there can be no doubting that Kevin Peterson,
18:53the batsman, was an absolute
18:55genius.
18:57That's a great shot.
18:59Some extraordinary innings from an extraordinary
19:01player. Brilliant batting.
19:03It's gone miles
19:05and miles and miles into the stand.
19:09What a shot from Kevin Peterson.
19:11He is the danger man.
19:13Extraordinary shot.
19:15Shades of Vivian Richards here.
19:17That is magnificent.