How do you like your maverick?

England's most talented, charismatic batsman, whose only rival in the side in terms of achievement is the stolid, workmanlike Essex opener who also happens to be the captain, is summarily barred from further involvement in international cricket after a disastrous Ashes tour where he was by no means the worst batsman statistically.

The decision to omit the batsman, a former captain of the side who has spent some of his childhood in Africa, is a controversial one as he has been a divisive figure throughout his career, many feeling that despite his weight of runs and continued commitment to the national cause, he has underachieved, played by his own rules too much, and is an unsettling figure in the dressing room.

Up and down the nation, it is debated by cricket fans. "David Gower? David Gower's a waste of space" a boy says in the school playing ground. "Gooch was right to get rid of him ..."

See what I've done there. I'm playing with memory a little bit there, but I was certainly a boy 20 odd years ago sick of hearing people insulting my hero, David Gower, England's best batsman, one of cricket's great entertainers, whose later career seemed to be ruined by an orchestrated establishment vendetta led by the dull-brained management team epitomised by Graham Gooch, then the captain, now England's batting coach (well, he ain't doing a great job, is he?)

And yet, why am I now on the other side of the divide, not exactly happy but accepting of the decision to put an abrupt end to Kevin Pietersen's international career? What's different?

I'm not ashamed to admit I don't know exactly and it's not all totally logical. Left. Right. Gower, left. Gooch, right. Pietersen, right. Cook/Strauss, left. We lefties stick together more than you know, you know?

I know some people, including good friends of mine, love to watch KP batting more than anyone else in cricket, but the phenomenon rather wore off on me a few years ago. His batting can be extraordinary, but it's also a bit ugly. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good KP innings as much as any other good England innings, but, honestly, I'd rather watch Ian Bell, Kumar Sangakkara or, of course, David Gower.

Also, don't get me wrong, I'm not perenially anti-Pietersen, Far from it. I've felt there's been a campaign against him for years within some quarters of the press (perhaps they knew many things I didn't) even when things were going really well for England, and I felt angered on his behalf. What's he really done wrong? He's never turned down the chance to play test cricket for England, he's clearly put his heart and soul into it, I felt there was some kind of establishment snobbery at work.

So, have I now submitted to that establishment snobbery? For the first time, I'm on the side of those saying enough is enough, Kevin. You don't belong here. Shame on me if so.

But, hmm, I wonder - Gower and Strauss, though they spent some of their youth in Africa (Strauss in SA, Gower in Tanzania) so easily carry the airs of the English establishment, the quiet humour, the good manners, they became loved and accepted in a way that KP, so relentlessly crass, so perpetually South African, never has.

Maybe in some ways, Pietersen is more like Gooch, the self-made outsider, certainly more like Botham, the arrogant, anti-establishment self-publicist who so many people take for a rebel and a hero. But what are they rebelling for except their own self-interest?

How do I like my maverick? Do I like them driven, selfish, muscular, well-groomed, self-absorbed? Or do I like them louche, distant, absurd, untidy, mercurial, graceful? I think you know the answer.

But, ok, enough with the cod-philosophy, Why is the treatment of Pietersen fine in a way that the treatment of Gower wasn't? A few reasons, They messed Gower about over and over again, brought him in, dropped him again even when he was on excellent form, never made anything clear. Because Gower was never an unpopular cricketer, because his mishaps were humorous rather than sly and treacherous. I'm not naive enough not to imagine how his presence, maybe sighing and shrugging his shoulders at the pointless rigours of the Gooch/Micky Stewart regime, might have been unsettling. But it was small-minded powerplay from lesser men.

That's exactly how some would describe the treatment of Pietersen, no doubt. But how many lesser men? Jason Gallian, Peter Moores, Andrew Strauss, Andy Flower, Alistair Cook? Are they all small-minded lesser men who have ended up taking up so strongly against KP that some of them pretty much sacrificed their own career over it. Because, to a man, they have a reputation for equanimity and good sense in other matters. Flower, incidentally, is a more principled, intelligent man, and was a better test cricketer than KP will ever be.

And he has not been messed about. He has been treated clearly and fairly. In layman's terms. "Stop being a dick. Be less of a dick and there'll be no problem. Just knuckle down, get on with your batting."

And that message, as it kept on coming to him throughout his career, kind of worked. Let's celebrate that this guy played over 100 tests, scored over 8000s runs for England, that he's been integral to the best period in English test cricket in my lifetime. Why is everybody saying he hasn't been well handled?

But, enough's enough. It's basic risk and reward. The risk of his unbalancing a new English cricket regime balanced with the fact he has not, for a couple of years, been a top class test player, just a half-decent one.

OK, KP fans, does anyone think that if he was given another chance, this wouldn't happen again?

I can accept a charge of hypocrisy on my part. I loved David Gower in a way I've never loved Pietersen. Of course I fought his corner further. But I also think, on balance, they've got this one right.

Yes, the team will be boring, more lumpen, without him, but maybe his absence will free a few of the other batsmen up. Who knows? Maybe it will be the making of stunted talents like Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara ... it's not impossible.

We'll see, I suppose. I think this will turn out to be the right decision. I think the England team will stutter back to life this summer, Cook will rediscover a bit of form, a few other batsmen will make some decent runs, and England will have the kind of period of settled averageness which is just what they need.

Hopefully, they'll sack Gooch as batting coach though. Sorry, couldn't resist. Old wounds.