KEY POINTS:
You've got to hand it to Kevin Pietersen - he's not the type to beat around the bush whether he's got a bat in his hand or a microphone in his face.
A more straight-shooting, cut-to-the-chase test batsman you'd be hard pressed to find; a point he wasted no time in confirming during the second Ashes test in Adelaide this weekend.
It wasn't just his 158, or his unfailing support of double-century-maker Paul Collingwood that caught the eye during England's strong start to the second test.
The thing that seemed to stand out most was his sheer bloody-mindedness as he blunted the Aussie bowling attack, in particular his ability to rein in his emotions for the greater good of his team.
Let's be clear about this. In the category of the world's best batsmen, in which Pietersen certainly qualifies, he would have to be the most ugly, ungainly, and apparently technically deficient practitioner of the lot.
There is nothing in his work that reminds one of the regal dominance of a Ricky Ponting or a Sachin Tendulkar; none of the wristy elegance of a Mohammad Yousuf or the matter-of-factness of a Jacques Kallis or a Rahul Dravid.
On the contrary, Pietersen squats over his guard as if he wished he were shorter, he bounces up and down as the bowler approaches, and he shuffles around on the crease with all the impatience of someone in dire need of a toilet stop.
Not only that, the man who played a key part in England winning the Ashes last year also appears dangerously bottom-handed, and if you are to read anything into his frequent forays down the wicket against Glenn McGrath - he's not above premeditation.
The 26-year-old South African born right-hander must be the closest thing to a rich man's Andrew Jones the cricket world's ever seen; someone who seemingly breaks every rule in the MCC copybook yet still emerges as a success. And his lack of subtlety is not reserved only for opposition bowling attacks.
A player who left home to play for England after he became disillusioned with South Africa's colour-based quota system, Pietersen has now found himself under investigation for comments he apparently made to GQ magazine.
In the piece, Pietersen is said to repeat his assertion that he was forced out of South African cricket by the racist post-unification quota system - in which each first-class province is required to field at least four non-white players. He also expresses a belief that the late and disgraced South African skipper Hansie Cronje was hard done by in comparison with other players who he believed had acted just as badly.
According to reports, Cricket SA wants the England and Wales Cricket Board to discipline him for his racism charges, and the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit to investigate him over his support for Cronje.
Which begs the oft-asked question - who the hell do they think they are?
It might be okay to suppress any sort of free expression in the halls of power at Cricket SA, but the concept of trying to prevent migrants from speaking about their life when abroad isn't something that many countries like to brag about.
Besides which, he's entirely right to describe South Africa's quota system as racist. Of course it is. It's simply a race-based solution for a race-based problem. In an entirely non-judgmental way, it's utterly racist.
As for Pietersen's comments on Cronje, he wouldn't be the first to air such thoughts - in fact, half the South African World Cup team were talking publicly like that on the eve of the 2003 World Cup.
You might have thought he could add his 10 cents' worth without Cricket SA feeling aggrieved.
One thing isn't likely to change, however, and that's Pietersen's apparent disdain for the establishment and his determination to see both cricket and the world through his own two eyes.
Anyone prepared to model a skunk lookalike hairstyle for an entire summer, as he did last year, is clearly his own man.
