Cricket

[ABBEY]

Campaign about Robbo? No it wasn't. It was my opinion about the keeper situation and nothing else.

Who says it is just one player that has had problems or arguments with KP? What happens if it is 4 or 5 players?

I don't see KP playing for England. I would rather give chances to players like Hales, Lyth, James Taylor.

Also pleased that Joe Root will be vice captain of the England test side

You was relentless over robbo , don't rewrite history of this board ,

Would you play your best player or would you sulk and slag him off like Strauss has just done on SSN ? It's the ashes ffs not some poxy match .

[Baz]

Exactly Gav.

All this has to been taken into account when selecting a player.

Are you going to trust KP if you are a team mate of his after all the things he has done. IMO very unlikely

Cricket is very much an individual within a team environment, theres no hiding places for poor batsmen or poor bowling in the same way that you can carry players in a football team. Having mates who are lovely but who will get destroyed by the opposition is not how you win test matches, or indeed how you build team spirit. The only trust really needed is that the other guy is not going to run you out, the rest is down to you as an individual.

[Al]

Campaign about Robbo? No it wasn't. It was my opinion about the keeper situation and nothing else.

ABBEY answered that one. I won't try to improve on what he said.

Who says it is just one player that has had problems or arguments with KP? What happens if it is 4 or 5 players?

I don't see KP playing for England. I would rather give chances to players like Hales, Lyth, James Taylor.

KP is a better player than any two of them and should be in on merit. Nice guys get beaten.

Also pleased that Joe Root will be vice captain of the England test side

[only2garners]

All of which affects his ability to play cricket how? He was asked to curtail a very lucrative contract with the IPL and to join an English county to prove he could still bat, all of which he has done and now the snobs at Lords have reneged. There will be repercussions when England get stuffed by Australia and struggle against New Zealand. Serves the idiots right.

No he wasn't - he was only offered a modest contract this year.

I have a friend who lives near him in London. He is a complete and utter to**er and he should not be anywhere near the England team. The Independent reported this morning that he's going to the IPL for the knockout games and he would not have been available to play the tests against New Zealand anyway. So much for committing to county cricket. Strauss says that he can't be trusted and that's exactly what my mate has said about him.

[jim mk2]

Great player in his pomp but more trouble than he is worth now. Strauss has done the right thing in making a clean break.

[Gav]

Great player in his pomp but more trouble than he is worth now. Strauss has done the right thing in making a clean break.

Averages 47 at test level, just scored a massive 300+, he worries the Aussies.

[Kamy100]

The blame for the current situation has to be put at the door of new chairman Colin Graves, most people had accepted that KP wouldn’t play for England again until Graves for whatever reason decided to say that the slate was clean and that he would be considered if he scored runs at the County Level.

I feel for KP in that he has been completely mislead by Graves, he has given him false hope and that has led to this situation completely blowing up once again. It is a huge shame that he won’t play for England again

[Al]

No he wasn't - he was only offered a modest contract this year.

I have a friend who lives near him in London. He is a complete and utter to**er and he should not be anywhere near the England team. The Independent reported this morning that he's going to the IPL for the knockout games and he would not have been available to play the tests against New Zealand anyway. So much for committing to county cricket. Strauss says that he can't be trusted and that's exactly what my mate has said about him.

The size of the contract is irrelevant. The point is he was told that if he gave up his contract and scored runs for a county he would be considered for England. He has kept his part of the contract/agreement and the ECB have reneged. Some trust they have showed. You can't trust them as far as you can throw them.

You don't find nastier pieces of work than Wayne Rooney but nobody tries to ban him from playing for England.

KP is simply the best cricketer who qualifies to play for England and the establishment don't like it. I hope they get royally stuffed by both Australia and New Zealand. If that makes me a traitor to my own country so be it.

[chaddyrovers]

Isn't KP going to IPL very shortly to for his team?

I think after this current Surrey game.

If he is then he didn't get out of playing in the IPL just delay playing in the competition

I wouldnt say KP is the best English cricketer.

Actually I would say Jimmy Anderson is. Been one of the best English bowler and top English Wicket taker.

[ABBEY]

How strange: Those massive issues of trust didn't prevent Strauss from offering KP an advisory role with England's one-day side.

Without giving away too many secrets, Andrew, you may find Pietersen already acts as a private consultant to one or two of your players.

Taken from Mike Walters column in todays mirror.

Interesting to say the least.

Gary Lineker
✔ ‎@GaryLineker
I see Mr Strauss has allowed personal grievance to influence his decisions. Seems extraordinarily petty and immature. Doesn't bode well.


12:59 PM - 12 May 2015



2,838 2,838 Retweets

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Graeme Smith
✔ ‎@GraemeSmith49
I see the head boy is making English cricket the laughing stock again! #StraussLogic


11:50 AM - 12 May 2015
GEOFF BOYCOTT, England legend and professional Yorkshireman: "Congratulations @KP24 on a fantastic innings. Only spoilt by Strauss and [ECB chief executive] Tom Harrison. Keep your chin up and keep scoring runs! #KPforEngland."

[only2garners]

The size of the contract is irrelevant. The point is he was told that if he gave up his contract and scored runs for a county he would be considered for England. He has kept his part of the contract/agreement and the ECB have reneged. Some trust they have showed. You can't trust them as far as you can throw them.

You don't find nastier pieces of work than Wayne Rooney but nobody tries to ban him from playing for England.

KP is simply the best cricketer who qualifies to play for England and the establishment don't like it. I hope they get royally stuffed by both Australia and New Zealand. If that makes me a traitor to my own country so be it.

Don't be silly, for course he's not. Maybe he was a few years ago but not now. As Chaddy points out, Jimmy Anderson would be my outstanding England player at the moment, followed closely by Joe Root.

The size of the contract is important - if he had had one as he has had previously he would never have bothered coming back. And he's off to the IPL now anyway and isn't available for the tests against New Zealand. Is he allowed to pick and choose which tests he plays in?

As far as I'm aware there was no contract or agreement. He was told that the best way to get back into the England team would be to get his head down and make some runs. I'm not aware that there was a promise that if he made runs that he was in. Plenty of other cricketers make plenty of runs in the early season and don't get picked. Bear in mind his 355 was against a team that have not won a county game in over two years.

Gary Lineker, Graeme Smith and Geoffrey Boycott don't agree with Strauss and the ECB - that's 3 more reasons to support them.

[Kamy100]

Isn't KP going to IPL very shortly to for his team?

I think after this current Surrey game.

If he is then he didn't get out of playing in the IPL just delay playing in the competition

I wouldnt say KP is the best English cricketer.

Actually I would say Jimmy Anderson is. Been one of the best English bowler and top English Wicket taker.

I am sorry Chris, do not agree with this.

You cannot compare KP to Jimmy, one is a bowler and the other is a batsman. Jimmy has without doubt been our standout bowler over the last 10 years, but equally KP and Cook have been our standout batsmen. KP has over 8000 test runs and an average of 47, which is fantastic in anyone book. He has won so many games for England over the last 10 years with his attacking style and is regarded worldwide as one of the best of this generation.

As for the IPL he has lost out on a heck of a lot of money. He will only be joining the Sunrisers for about 10 days to take part in the playoff and will not receive anywhere near the money that he would have done if he had played for the entire 6 weeks of the tournament. His appearances for Surrey were for free. Even the huge KP critics in the media have acknowledged that he has been treated in a very poor manner and he has every right to be angry.

I also cannot understand Strauss's reasoning how can he on one hand say that there are trust issues but then offer him an advisory role with the one day side?

It all goes back to the original point, everyone had accepted that KP's England career was over until Graves opened his mouth, this whole subsequent mess could totally have been avoided if Graves had kept his gob shut.

[Tris]

There has been a series of shambolic decisions by those at the top of the ECB. The whole preparation for the World Cup, sticking with Cook for far too long, then booting him far too late to make any difference - when the avowed intent had been to have the best possible preparation - was a joke. They shunted whole Test series' around the calendar, but by their own incompetence managed to create so much chaos before the tournament that the early exit was inevitable, and totally self-inflicted.

And even now the chaos continues. Regardless of KP and how that's been handled. I find it astonishing that the best available candidate for Director of Cricket is someone who just three years ago was still in the dressing room, and that his vice captain when he left is the current captain and a close friend. Given Cook's fluctuations in form as a batsman and shortcomings as a captain, that cannot be a healthy situation either for their friendship, or for England's prospects this summer.

Add into the mix that Strauss has already booted Peter Moores and now has to appoint the next coach and it becomes even less healthy. And now this KP fiasco makes that process much more difficult. What if they decide that (eg) Gillespie is the best man for the job, he turns up and says "I'll take the job only if I can influence selection, and I want to be able to select KP"? Do they do an embarrassing U-turn, or do they move down their shortlist and end up with a coach who was never the preferred option?

And the Strauss-Cook axis already undermines whoever might take that poisoned chalice of a head coach role, everyone can see that the incoming coach will be pitched into the centre of an existing close relationship half of which is his new boss. KP's column this morning suggests that Strauss is untouchable come what may this summer - who of any quality will want to take on the Aussies, to sit on the England balcony / face the media / take the flak for 25 days when apparently the job title could be Chief Scapegoat as much as Head Coach.

To finish on the subject of the Ashes. Most fans will have paid north of 70 quid each to watch a single day of Ashes cricket - that in itself as a result of ECB greed, forcing venues to bid ever higher amounts to host Test cricket. 70 quid is quarter of a season at Ewood Park!

If England performances are not up to scratch then there will be a lot of unhappy punters. The KP saga might be the tip of the iceberg and the trigger that sets some people off, but the natural targets for any Ashes failure are already putting themselves on their pedestals ready to be shot at.

[Husky]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/32718137

There are certainly similarities between what is (perceived to be) going on at Rovers and the England cricket set-up. The incompetent and stubborn people lurking in the shadows seem to be cocking it all up.

[Al]

I am sorry Chris, do not agree with this.

You cannot compare KP to Jimmy, one is a bowler and the other is a batsman. Jimmy has without doubt been our standout bowler over the last 10 years, but equally KP and Cook have been our standout batsmen. KP has over 8000 test runs and an average of 47, which is fantastic in anyone book. He has won so many games for England over the last 10 years with his attacking style and is regarded worldwide as one of the best of this generation.

As for the IPL he has lost out on a heck of a lot of money. He will only be joining the Sunrisers for about 10 days to take part in the playoff and will not receive anywhere near the money that he would have done if he had played for the entire 6 weeks of the tournament. His appearances for Surrey were for free. Even the huge KP critics in the media have acknowledged that he has been treated in a very poor manner and he has every right to be angry.

I also cannot understand Strauss's reasoning how can he on one hand say that there are trust issues but then offer him an advisory role with the one day side?

It all goes back to the original point, everyone had accepted that KP's England career was over until Graves opened his mouth, this whole subsequent mess could totally have been avoided if Graves had kept his gob shut.

Good post Kamy

[den]

Pietersen has been such a bad influence that he's only made 104 test appearances. "Only 104". And during much of that time the England team morale looked to be far higher than it is now. For me, this whole "trust" argument doesn't work. It's a cover up. England's results and performances over the years are down to the individual talent on offer, they're nothing to do with how KPs behaviour has affected anything. And if his behaviour hasn't affected results, then what's the problem? Are we to drop anyone because they're not popular, or are a bit of an absolute idiot every now and again? What matters most - winning by any means, or everyone getting on nicely?

One things for absolute certain, Our opponents gain far more from us not playing him, than we do.

Still, chin up, winning doesn't mean everything old chaps. Turning up and playing the game is paramount it seems.

Edited May 13, 2015 by den

[chaddyrovers]

Cook and ECB admin staff would have walk away if KP came back into the side.

Wonder who the several players were?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/kevin-pietersen-england-recall-would-5693336

[ABBEY]

Pietersen has been such a bad influence that he's only made 104 test appearances. "Only 104". And during much of that time the England team morale looked to be far higher than it is now. For me, this whole "trust" argument doesn't work. It's a cover up. England's results and performances over the years are down to the individual talent on offer, they're nothing to do with how KPs behaviour has affected anything. And if his behaviour hasn't affected results, then what's the problem? Are we to drop anyone because they're not popular, or are a bit of an absolute idiot every now and again? What matters most - winning by any means, or everyone getting on nicely?

One things for absolute certain, Our opponents gain far more from us not playing him, than we do.

Still, chin up, winning doesn't mean everything old chaps. Turning up and playing the game is paramount it seems.

Mmmm substitute your KP reasons for playing with the word Rhodes

[Gav]

Damage limitation story that for me, saves Strauss from being the bad guy.

KP has obviously been a pain in the arse during his time as an England player, but we need him in the side, he's our best batsman by a country mile.

But we need to move on, he'll not play for England again.....

[ABBEY]

Cook and ECB admin staff would have walk away if KP came back into the side.

Wonder who the several players were?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/kevin-pietersen-england-recall-would-5693336

Soft arses !

I worked outside with many I didn't like including proper serious fallouts . I still had to work with them professionally after .

[Baz]

Cook and ECB admin staff would have walk away if KP came back into the side.

Wonder who the several players were?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/kevin-pietersen-england-recall-would-5693336

Its Cook - how many others of the last ashes team are still in the squad? - and as for admin staff surely thats a joke?

Flintoff has said KP isnt in the top 10 of difficult players he's played with.

Cook seems to well above his station, putting his own feelings above the team performance. Sounds like he needs bringing down a peg or two to me, and needs to concentrate on his own game let alone negative captaincy.

[den]

Shearer and Sutton apparently didn't get on. Maybe we should have told Sutton that he was affecting "trust", kicked him out and forgot about winning the league?

Edited May 13, 2015 by den

[den]

Mmmm substitute your KP reasons for playing with the word Rhodes

Do me a favour Abbs, - not on here pleeeease.

[Al]

Cook and ECB admin staff would have walk away if KP came back into the side.

Wonder who the several players were?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/kevin-pietersen-england-recall-would-5693336

Let them. They are replaceable and KP is not. This when you get to the bottom of it is a purely personal thing from Andrew Strauss who fell out with him after being his friend. Strauss should resign if he can't keep his personal squabbles out of it. Pick KP and the rest would play. They won't give up international cricket because they don't like somebody.

[ABBEY]

Do me a favour Abbs, - not on here pleeeease.

true tho