Kevin Pietersen has signalled his desire to be involved in coaching the England cricket team on the eve of his final match for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.

“Of course, it would be nice to have a connection,” Pietersen said when asked if he would like a role with this current England side. “I have an incredible amount to offer the game. It is wasted that English cricketers do not benefit.”

“They still come to me and ask for help. That is happening and I love that. To be involved with this young, one-day set up would be nice. I would like some involvement because I love the way they play. It is so good.”

As Pietersen, who ended his playing days on the English cricket scene last summer, sits in the dining area of the SCG during a break between commentary stints, mulling over what the future might hold, England are putting together a performance Eoin Morgan would rank as the best of his tenure to beat Australia and take an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the ODI series.

Through blind coincidence and smatterings of inspiration, these England cricketers play in Pietersen’s image: attack blended with belligerent arrogance. This weekend, those same players might strike it rich in the Indian Premier League auction – an opportunity he bulldozed through to much derision.

Their style is not lost on Pietersen, who scored 4,440 international runs, at an average of 40.73, in the 50-over format. And the 37-year-old wants a more direct influence on their cricket.

Anti-establishment figure seeks rapprochement with the establishment? It is a sign of how far Pietersen and England’s regard of white-ball cricket has come that he wants the opportunity to be a part of what this team are trying to achieve. How he mends the many burned bridges at the ECB remains to be seen. That first reintegration did not exactly go according to plan.

But there is a sincerity to Pietersen’s words and an admiration he has no urge to hide: “I just love the attacking nature. We have always had the players – it was the system. It is lovely they have a free rein to go out there and fail which is magnificent. Trevor Bayliss has had so much experience in the IPL and T20 cricket so he has seen failure and success.”

Pietersen’s BBL finale will incorporate his passion for rhino welfare, with a dollar from each ticket going towards the Australian Rhino Project. He was injured for the English equivalent, when Surrey hosted Sussex last August and, after missing Wednesday’s match against the Sydney Sixers, has been working overtime to be fighting fit for the visit of the Hobart Hurricanes. By his own admission, retirement is simply preempting a body and mind that do not have the appetite for another lap of the Twenty20 circuit.

“My body is starting to ache and I am really not enjoying the fielding side,” says Pietersen. “I have contracts in Dubai and South Africa, so I will look at those and see where I get to. I can’t see myself coming back here and wanting to play another season of Big Bash.”

Even his detractors would not begrudge Pietersen a last chance to stroll out at the MCG. The seeds of a BBL career were sown during England’s shambolic 2013-14 Ashes tour, which prematurely ended his and a few other international careers. Australia welcomed him with open arms, first as the pantomime villain, then as their “Mr Every Night”.

He calls the cricket for Channels Nine and rivals Ten, and even does a few adverts, too. Cricket Australia have done what the ECB could not: harness Pietersen’s light-hearted side. But his four-year expedition has been more than marketing.

This season, Pietersen passed the thousand-run mark for the Melbourne Stars and will finish with an average of 35 and a strike rate over 130 per 100 balls. Out of the franchises he has turned out for, it is for the Stars that he has the most appearances. “They have been the most unbelievable franchise,” he says.

His in-depth experience of both sides of the BBL also puts him in a good position to judge the ECB’s move to mimic the competition with their T20 rebrand in 2020. For him, free-to-air broadcasts hold the key.

“If you have free to air then it is going to be a massive hit. We get 1.2m people watching BBL games on Ten every night. You are not going to get those numbers on satellite television. In 2005 it was monster. The problem is they do not have any proper heroes. Guys like Root, Stokes and Buttler should be big stars.” Would he like to be involved in some capacity – be it mentor, consultant or coach? “It is something I will definitely look at for sure.”

As for Saturday, he will not be too emotional. After all, he says, he started out as an 18-year-old offie who could not hold a bat.

“I am aware of how lucky I am to have played one Test match,” he reflects, having played 104 of them. “It will be a celebration. I have loved my career. I will not shed a tear over something that has been so cool.”