Kevin Pietersen joins talkSPORT for England Cricket tour

Kevin Pietersen is joining talkSPORT to provide coverage of England Cricket’s tour of South Africa on talkSPORT 2.

Former England batsman Mark Butcher will take on the lead anchor role for the series following his stint with talkSPORT in Sri Lanka, and Darren Gough returns to the station from inside the England camp following his stint as fast bowling consultant in New Zealand.

The new recruits join former England players Matt Prior, Mark Nicholas, Steve Harmison, Alex Tudor and Gareth Batty with South Africa-based Neil Manthorp, Guy Swindells, Andrew McKenna and analyst Jarrod Kimber for the duration of the series, with more names to be announced soon. Stats and analysis of the tour will be powered by CricViz.

Kevin Pietersen said: “South Africa is a fantastic country to tour and it will be a watermark one for England. The series should make for a world-class spectacle and the talkSPORT team will be there to bring fans the sounds of South Africa with all the pitch-side insight, analysis and interviews in what will undoubtedly be a tasty series.”

National Radio Controller, Liam Fisher said: “KP is a fantastic new addition to this award-winning talkSPORT team and with Darren Gough back behind the mic fresh from the England camp plus no ad breaks during live play, we have a winning combination for fans. This is one of the most highly skilled commentary teams ever put together to cover a tour.”

The station also extends its partnership with the Barmy Army to bring listeners the full fan’s experience and reflect what it’s like to go on tour with the England cricket team. The partnership includes an on-air competition to fly two fans to the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka in March and a talkSPORT vs Barmy Army charity cricket match in Cape Town.

Chris Millard, Barmy Army Managing Director, commented: “Our relationship with talkSPORT has blossomed since we worked together on the Sri Lanka tour. We are over the moon to be joined by talkSPORT cricket editor Jon Norman and his team once more on the South Africa tour. talkSPORT are the voice of the fans on air and we are the fan’s voice off air, so it’s the perfect fit.”

Commentary will be live on talkSPORT 2 and includes all Test Matches, ODIs and T20 games, starting at Centurion on talkSPORT 2 on Boxing Day at 8am GMT.