KP to never play for England again...

[Joffey]

...disgusting decision by Strauss. Jesus, the guy scored a triple century today.

 

[TVC]

Boy they really must dislike him. There must be something he has done, or keeps doing that upsets people in the business, beyond what we already know.

 

[psmiffy]

...disgusting decision by Strauss. Jesus, the guy scored a triple century today.

Yup- against a team who were Northants first victim for something like 3 seasons - buffet bowling and dropped at least 4 times - a good knock all the same

 

[Slioch]

Didn't KP stitch Strauss up a couple of years back. Tweeting stuff to the opposition about how to get him out or something. The guy may be talented, but he's always struck me as a bit of a wrong un!
Karma.

 

[Joffey]

Yup- against a team who were Northants first victim for something like 3 seasons - buffet bowling and dropped at least 4 times - a good knock all the same

I see your point but it was some innings when no other players scored over 40. We all know he would walk into the team and score bags of runs, just dunno what he did that was so bad! Must have taken a dump in Cook's kit bag or something...

 

[slowwww]

I've been at a number of events where there has been current and previous England players speaking, and to a man they all hate KP. Apparently, while prodigiously talented, he is totally divisive, believing his team mates to be inferior to him, inveigling for promotion to captain/vice as soon as he arrives, and if he is not successful in that aim, seeks to insidiously undermine the current captain/ manager etc.

Given what's gone between them in the past, clearly he must have suspected what was coming as soon as Strauss was appointed. That was straight out of the 'revenge is a dish best served cold' top- drawer!

Anyway, with Balance, Root and co in the middle order, that's not where the England batting problem lies now anyway.

 

[Hacienda71]

I can't help but think that the England management are lacking. KP might be a turd but he is one of the most talented players of the modern era. Surely the management should deal with it in some way other than refusing to play one of their best assets.
Boycott was a turd as well, he used to run out his team mates if it benefited him. He was hugely arrogant and not liked by many of his fellow players, but he wasn't dropped as a result. If you are a brilliant player of any sport arrogance seems to be a fairly common trait and it needs firm management to control it. Premiership football management being a case in point.

 

[nickyboy]

It's probably a decision based on two factors;

For sure he is a very divisive character and that runs contrary to what the ECB want their teams to be like. There is no way they would have appointed Strauss if there was any possibility that they were going to select Pietersen in the future. It wasn't a Strauss decision, it was a decision of the people who appointed Strauss - they knew what Strauss would decide when they appointed him.

He's 34, 35 next month. The 300 he scored is an outlier, he's not the player he was and as each year progresses he will become less of a cricketer. England are looking forward with Root, Balance, Jordan etc. Reselecting a player in the Autumn of his career runs contrary to their team development philosophy

 

[Paul99]

It'll be fun reading his twitter feed when we get stuffed 5-0 in the Ashes.

The England cricket team is run for and by the old school tie brigade. They couldn't give a stuff about the average English cricket fan, they give less of a stuff about the game and how it is played elsewhere. Until they face up to the fact that the game has moved on we will never be a major player in all forms of the game.

We've got one truly world class talent in the team, Root, but will he be able to handle the constant pressure of bailing out the mediocre players around him?

 

[accountantpete]

.
Boycott was a turd as well, he used to run out his team mates if it benefited him. He was hugely arrogant and not liked by many of his fellow players, but he wasn't dropped as a result.

I think Sir Geoffrey was dropped on several occasions precisely because of his attitude

There is the famous anecdote of Basil D'oliveira walking down the pitch to announce to Boycott that he had finally sussed out how to play the Australian spinner Johnny Gleeson who had been getting the other English batsmen out on a regular basis. Boycott is reported to have dismissed the advice with the words " I worked that out a fortnight ago".

 

[John the Monkey]

I'm not sure we need another player who either scores in three figures, or holes out though, do we?

Quite why everyone feels the need to say "He'll never play again" is beyond me though. A simple "We're considering any/all options" is all that's needed, shorely?

 

[Paul99]

I'm not sure we need another player who either scores in three figures, or holes out though, do we?

Quite why everyone feels the need to say "He'll never play again" is beyond me though. A simple "We're considering any/all options" is all that's needed, shorely?

You raise a valid point in your first sentence, but are also missing a good chunk of what KP brings to the team as a batting talent.

Sure some of our batsmen can score a ton, or more usually a duck, but it's the way they score. KP can turn a game, he can turn a likely draw/defeat into a win with a quick, big ton. The players who are most likely to score a century for us at the moment do it so slowly we are only ever likely to save a game rather than win it.

KP is also a big target for the opposition, while they are expending energy trying to get him out our more leisurely batsmen can take a bit of time to get in and start scoring.

 

[John the Monkey]

Sure some of our batsmen can score a ton, or more usually a duck, but it's the way they score. KP can turn a game, he can turn a likely draw/defeat into a win with a quick, big ton. The players who are most likely to score a century for us at the moment do it so slowly we are only ever likely to save a game rather than win it.

KP is also a big target for the opposition, while they are expending energy trying to get him out our more leisurely batsmen can take a bit of time to get in and start scoring.

...and he was, I suppose, ditched despite being the highest scoring player on the last tour he played, iirc, which always seemed rather unfair to me.

I think I'd have agreed with you a few years back - I don't see it now though, personally, and I can't see him being the factor that loses (by his absence) or wins (by his presence) the upcoming matches.

 

[Kestevan]

The man's a prize cock.
Doesn't matter how talented he is if you can't find 10 others willing to play with him.

 

[nickyboy]

...and he was, I suppose, ditched despite being the highest scoring player on the last tour he played, iirc, which always seemed rather unfair to me.

I think I'd have agreed with you a few years back - I don't see it now though, personally, and I can't see him being the factor that loses (by his absence) or wins (by his presence) the upcoming matches.

You're right. The ECB management put up with him when he could be a decisive force in games. Now it seems he can shine brightly occasionally but not often enough to make it worthwhile having such a divisive presence in the changing room