The ego has crash-landed: Kevin Pietersen's future up in the air after England dismissal

ENGLAND'S decision to sack cricket's greatest mercenary, Kevin Pietersen, is a double bonus for Australia.

Kevin Pietersen walks off the SCG in what has ultimately proven to be his final Test for England.

ENGLAND'S decision to sack cricket's greatest mercenary, Kevin Pietersen, is a double bonus for Australia.

It greatly enhances Australia's chances of retaining the Ashes in England next year while Pietersen is likely to boost the rocketing status of the Big Bash next season now he is a gun for hire.

The South African-born England great has become the fourth casualty of his team's debilitating Australian tour behind Jonathan Trott, Graeme Swann and coach Andy Flower.

The defensive and uninspiring captaincy of Alastair Cook also hangs in the balance but there are no obvious options to replace him.

News_Rich_Media: Pietersen is one of the most polarising characters in world sport, so it's not surprising that his axing has divided opinion among England's former greats. Cricket Correspondent Sarah Jones has a look at the fall out.

Australia made such a mess of England this summer that its now gutted line-up is likely to be vulnerable when the next Ashes bout takes place in the UK during the middle of next year.

South Africa without Kallis, India without Tendulkar and England without Pietersen, suddenly the number one Test ranking does not look so far away.

Now that Pietersen, 33, is a free agent he can do what he loves most, making money.

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A full IPL season can net him the best part of $2 million and the Big Bash would provide a nice little six figures for six weeks work, along with some sunshine at Christmas.

England could have waited until after next month's World Twenty20 to ditch Pietersen given England has only one limited overs trophy of any substance, from the 2010 World T20, which Pietersen won for them.

He has always been a double-edged sword for England.

The South African, who abandoned his country as a teenager because he could not get a game with the Natal senior side as an off-spinner, never really fitted in.

News_Rich_Media: Former England captain Michael Vaughan says Kevin Pietersen's sacking is a great loss for world cricket.

But that had more to do with personality than geography.

He has been England's only real match-winner, an all-consuming talent with an ego to match who could turn a Test and a series through his brilliance and self-belief.

The downside of Pietersen was that same massive ego, which was always in danger of suffocating the dressing room.

News_Image_File: Pietersen hits out against Zimbabwe in 2004.

In the end England decided that he wasn't worth the trouble. They could just as easily be flogged 5-0 without him.

If England is to rebuild with a strong team culture they must do it without Pietersen because he has absolutely no concept of team.

He was gone well before the end of the tour. None of the team hierarchy, particularly Flower or Cook, publicly backed Pietersen at any stage as part of the future.

England batting coach and former captain Graham Gooch made it as clear as he could during the fourth Test in Melbourne well over a month ago that Pietersen was history.

When Gooch uttered the words "more pain" and "rebuilding" as England continued to capitulate, the obvious extrapolation was farewell Pietersen.

"We have to look for ways to move forward and ways to improve and that might entail taking some more pain before it gets better," Gooch said at the time. "Obviously there will be a rebuilding process."

At least England has found one new foundation stone, New Zealand born all-rounder Ben Stokes, 22, who shapes with Stuart Broad as the way ahead.