Kevin Pietersen vs. Andrew Flintoff: Who Would Help England's T20 Team the Most?

Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen were made for Twenty20 cricket.

What makes them so perfect for the shortest form of the game is not only their abilities, but the fact they love to entertain. They are showmen, and T20 gives them a stage on which to perform.

Pietersen is a player who loves to dominate, even at times embarrass, the bowlers he comes up against.

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"KP" is the man who gave us the "flamingo shot," then made switch-hitting popular to the point where the MCC had to debate whether it was legal or not for a batsman to switch from right to left-handed.

Flintoff never quite displayed the same creativity as his former international team-mate when out in the middle. Instead, when he is batting, he just uses natural power to muscle the ball over the rope.

In his prime, the finest string to the Lancastrian's bow was his bowling. Flintoff was capable of working up a real head of steam, yet was not only fast but also deadly accurate.

His Test record with the ball did not really do his talent justice, yet he had spells during his international career that will never be forgotten by those that witnessed them, either live at the ground or on television.

Plenty will remember his dismissal of Australia captain Ricky Ponting during the 2005 Ashes on English soil, but perhaps his dismantling of Jacques Kallis' stumps, at Edgbaston three years later, was even better.

Add in the ability to catch flies in the slips and launch the ball from one side of the field to the other with his cannon of an arm, and it is easy to see why Flintoff was considered the complete all-rounder when in his pomp.

So who would boost England’s T20 team the most right now? Pietersen would be the clear choice, and not just because he is the younger of the two at 34.

With his sacking by the England and Wales Cricket Board last year effectively ending his international career, Pietersen has had to become a T20 specialist. Free from the constraints of his central contract, he has taken his bat around the world to showcase his skills.

He was the only England player purchased in last year’s IPL auction, per The Guardian, though the Delhi Daredevils opted to release him after just one season.

There have also been appearances in the Caribbean Premier League and the NatWest T20 Blast back in England. However, he struggled for form for Surrey last summer, averaging just 22.50 and failing to pass 50 once in his 12 innings.

The South African-born batsman has been more successful in the Big Bash League recently, scoring two half-centuries for the Melbourne Stars.

Flintoff has also been in action in Australia during the English winter, too, having made his comeback for Lancashire Lightning in the summer of 2014.

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Injuries forced Flintoff to call it quits back in 2009 after helping England clinch the Ashes on home soil, yet after media work, and a brief boxing career, he was tempted to play cricket once more.

He has flashed moments of the old Fred since returning, including taking a wicket with his first ball in the domestic T20 final, against Warwickshire. The trademark celebration—Flintoff standing triumphantly, arms out-stretched waiting to be embraced by team-mates as he soaked up the adulation of the crowd—was back for all to see.

There was a brief cameo with the bat in a losing cause for Lancashire, too, and in action for the Brisbane Heat he has again offered occasional reminders to his glorious past.

The stats, though, show he has been a peripheral figure for his franchise. The 37-year-old has sent down just 10 overs in six matches to date for the Heat, and his economy rate is above 12 an over.

Perhaps the biggest contribution from both of these modern greats so far during the Big Bash has been off the field, rather than on it.

Flintoff has revelled in his chance to join the host broadcasters in the commentary box, while Pietersen marked one of his appearances, per Sky Sports, by pushing his case for an international recall.

Neither, though, are going to play for England's T20 team again. But what if we were able to pick just one of the duo to play during their prime?

Both offer the potential to win a match on their own, but Flintoff has the edge in that he could do so with both bat and ball. It is such a shame that he only played in seven T20 games for his country.