If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Pietersen is England's best batsman, in all forms of the game. In fact, he's one of the most talented batsman England have ever had, certainly in recent years at least. An England side without him is an England side weakened, as evidenced in the performances against South Africa in the third Test, and more noticeably in the World T20.
The battle for the honour of being the world's best test cricket team should have been one of the highlights of the summer but the Kevin Pietersen saga has cast a very dark shadow over the spectacle. One that for the sake of English cricket needs to be resolved swiftly.
The Pietersen saga illustrates one of the key dilemmas of management and leadership. Star players (whether in sport or business) are often 'difficult' individuals - egotistical, conceited and selfish, yet sometimes, insecure and needy. How is it best to deal with them when they step out of line?
Monday was a bittersweet day for Ian Bell. Where the wretched Birmingham weather had contrived to dash any hopes he may have harboured of scoring the additional 24 runs required to ensure he became the first Warwickshire player to score a Test century at Edgbaston, the rather more soothing news that he had been restored to England's One Day International side as an opener offered some consolation.
The phrase 'cutting off their nose to spite their face' has been used in abundance in the last week in relation to the story that Kevin Pietersen has retired from international limited overs cricket. But there's a reason for that: it fits.
England fans will hope that the differences can be reconciled between Pietersen and the ECB. After all, England needs Pietersen at both Test and Twenty20 level.
Until recently the Indian Premier League had been to me what protecting Gotham City has been to Batman for the past 73 years; fun on occasion, but swiftly becoming tedious and largely irrelevant.
Kevin Pietersen is a genius. A flawed genius, yes, but a genius nonetheless that will continue to win Test matches for England. Enjoy him whilst he is here.
As England's second three day warm-up match of this two Test 'mini-tour' of Sri Lanka culminated in an unexpectedly exciting finale, thus averting one of those all too familiarly insipid draws so often associated with this beautiful isle, a sense of foreboding ahead of the upcoming five day stuff had still managed to lodge itself deep within my admittedly negative psyche.
A little after Rahul Dravid reached his 34th test hundred on the second day of the India-England test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Alan Wilkins ...
