Blame this mess on Pietersen
Wed Jan 07 03:33PM
I am surprised and dismayed that the England team has got into its current state, and the blame for this mess lies with Kevin Pietersen.
He has acted irresponsibly in pushing for coach Peter Moores to be sacked and he has put himself above the team - those are not the actions of a good captain.
England thought they knew what they were taking on when they made Pietersen captain - he is a headstrong character with strong ideas and little appetite for compromise.
But the way he has gone about this has been completely counterproductive and he has presented England with a massive problem.
I can tell you that no cricket team is entirely without conflicts, but the team should always come first and you should try to hammer out your differences.
You can't do that sitting on a camel in South Africa or wherever Pietersen has been on holiday. He needs to sit down with Peter Moores back in England and talk to him.
It's one thing to be a no-nonsense skipper who doesn't accept mediocrity - but it is quite another to place yourself above the game and try to get rid of the coach by saying: 'Either he goes or I go'.
As a consequence, both will go. It is a mess and there are no winners.
I challenged authority a few times in my career but I never did it in public and I never compromised the team.
Pietersen does not look good in a lot of people's eyes. Moores does not come across as a bad bloke - maybe he lacks a bit of international experience, but he is a good organiser and gets guys in a good place to go and play cricket.
His methods worked at County level and I am surprised Pietersen has not seen the bigger picture, which is that he has to work with people whether or not they would be his first choice.
I think the players will deal with it well as long as it gets sorted - these chaotic situations affect players less than many people imagine. The problem in the dressing room is that Pietersen has shown he doesn't deserve the captaincy.
I am pleased the captaincy has been handed to Andrew Strauss, who has come through problems with his form and his personal life, been in and out of the team and has dealt with it all very maturely.
It should be up to Strauss whether he wants Pietersen on the tour of the West Indies.
Pietersen's place in the team must be under immediate threat. However good you are, you can't create this kind of situation as people will start asking which side you are on - the team's or your own?
I am amazed that somebody close to him - a family member, his agent, his wife - has not told him to take a step back and ask himself where this is going.
It is an incredible situation, and so frustrating as it comes in an Ashes year and at a time when Australia are in a spot of bother.
They have lost series to India and South Africa and are really struggling, but we have handed the initiative back to them. The Aussies will be laughing their heads off.
To them daffy ducks who dont think U can camel ride in South Africa. For your info, the internet is available to use and has a wealth of information.
) Camel Rides at the Beach.Imhoff's Farm, Kommetjie,
Cape Town, South Africa. U yourselves can do a google search, u might be surprised what U find. So good work to Thorpey I hear U say.)
From eric_manoussakis on Wed Jan 07 08:16PMRemember how KP left the SA team? What goes around really does come around Kev!
From mahlulik on Wed Jan 07 08:17PMRemember how KP left the SA team? What goes around does come around Kev!
From mahlulik on Wed Jan 07 08:23PMWhat do you expect from a South Arican arrogant breed.
From arthurinspector47 on Wed Jan 07 08:27PMI think a lot of bad things are being said here about KP without any evidence beyond media hearsay. One thing's for sure, he's an inspiring and special batsman who almost all of us would pay money to see. As a captain removing an underperforming coach could be benefiting the team; this could be the sign of someone dedicated to team success so it can't be used to besmirch KP as selfish. He could equally (and this seems more likely) be someone dedicated to his own success and the success of the team. I hope KP carries on with England and helps us win the Ashes and then go on to beat the best teams in the world like India and South Africa (there's one for the aussies). Having said that, I would have appointed Staussy years ago, before the tour to Australia (and Flintoff is great!) and I think not apointing him was a great mistake, which as someone else has said, was the responsibility of the selectors at the time.
From philipnathan on Wed Jan 07 08:31PMPietersen is a one man ego machine, while Moores is an amateur sportsman in a professional game. Pietersen despises incompetence, while Moores England coaching record reeks of failure. What else did the ECB expect? Pietersen has got no respect in the dressing room because of his arrogant attitude, while Moores was always the wrong appointment. As a short term solution, I would bring in Paul Nixon, just for the Ashes. Experienced captain, good keeper, scores runs, great motivator and no one hates the convicts more than Nixon. Talking of convicts, get Tom Moody in ....... quick!
From stephenjones272 on Wed Jan 07 08:36PMMoores was not up to the job. KP is an undisputed cricket genius. No common ground and that is the essence of the debate. England will move on with Strauss and KP likewise will improve.
From neil.evans01 on Wed Jan 07 10:57PMI have been a firm advocate that Moores needs to get more experience ( OK, he was poor) but he is beiong linked with the KP media affair.
But,in all honesty I cannot see what Moores has done wrong in this spat. As far as I can see he has kept his mouth closed and let KP do the talking. Apart from having a good case in court, I think the guy has been unfairly treated, IF, IF, he is being sacked over the KP affair.From bensafrimboy on Wed Jan 07 11:22PMComment 20 is a real hoot "Kevin Pieterson was the first English captain since Ian Botham with the right attitude and winning mentality." As I recall, Botham's record as England captain was won 0, lost 8. Egomaiacs do not make good captains or good coaches and should never be appointed as such.
From bob.edge64 on Thu Jan 08 02:24AMPietersen was and is right! The stuffed shirts who run the game in England are the problem and always have been. If you pick KP to be Captain then back him = 100%. As for Alistair Cook, he doesn't deserve his place in the side let alone as captain...........what a joke!
From emmric on Thu Jan 08 02:54AMMoores has been abysmal. No wonder KP wanted to see the back of him. I honestly hope the balless ICB sacks Moores. KP will be back that's for sure. The only guy in England with any character really.
From eliotot on Thu Jan 08 05:57AMSurely it is time Freddy was forgiven???
From carney1000 on Thu Jan 08 07:15AMWasn't KP the one who called Graeme Smith a Muppet? Who's the Muppet now?
Smith scored more runs than KP in 2009..... Please keep him there. We DON"T want him back in SA
From dennis_burnsza on Thu Jan 08 07:16AMRefer item 32 - KP was never in the SA sqad. Major teams: England, Hampshire, ICC World XI, KwaZulu-Natal, Natal, Nottinghamshire.
Thank goodness he came to the UK and is/was not lost in SA sports politics.
From carney1000 on Thu Jan 08 07:21AMthere is a tendency in the england management and officials to sweep problems under the carpet,to present a unified front while the reality is
a deeply divided team is a recpie for disaster ,I commend KP for brining everything in the open,then we might be ready for the ashesFrom club99iraq on Thu Jan 08 08:14AMCRICKET DAYS ARE OVER!!!!! ITS ALL TO DO WITH MONEY & POWER!!!!!!!!!
From flashewing on Thu Jan 08 08:22AMIt always makes me laugh when I read Australian comments about our team being full of guys who aren't from England. With the exception of the few native Australians who reach the top of their sport, every single sports star you have has links to another country! My house is older than Australia! Andrew McDonald.......... enough said
Try embrace the fact that you're multicultural instead of denying it.
From jamesgwild on Thu Jan 08 08:31AMwhat a saint this man is!! Thorpe obviously has a problem with Pietersen and should try being objective instead of blowing his own trumpet.
From bmush_uk on Thu Jan 08 09:06AMWe should have done whatever was necessary to keep KP. Sure he's childish and egotistical, but he could have given us a chance of winning some things as he had the fire in his belly that we English are sadly lacking at this point in our history. Moores was not good enough, that had become plain. Maybe KP should have broached the subject differently, but he didn't and we needed to deal with that quickly and in such a way as to not lose a promissing captain over an increasingly poor coach.
By the way, Thorpe was a hero of mine while he was shoring up colapse prone team after team but I find him a judgemental bitter little finger pointer of a journalist. Shame.
From gagwhall on Thu Jan 08 09:09AMWell said. I reckon bring Tresco back as England captain (for the home games anyway!)...Ramprakash as away captain - maybe try and persuade Hick to pick his international bat up again. Or maybe not.
I think Thorpe was being ironic and highlighting the ridiculousness of the situation by suggesting Pietersen was sat on 'camels in south africa' - don't take it literally!!
From maest1980 on Thu Jan 08 09:26AMWell said Thorpe. We do not need Prima Donnas in Cricket ,or any other sport for that matter!
From carla.chuter on Thu Jan 08 09:32AMI just can't resist saying it ... "I told you so!!!" KP is a better than 1st class player. Focussed - yes but smart - No.
England need a captain who has real brains, knows how to use and get the most out of everyone - on and off the field. I hoped Strauss would have been made captain in the first place. Of course Strauss will make mistakes but is unlikely to make the gross errors of judgement which KP has made. As it is, the role is more of a poisoned chalice than ever.
From david_cadogan on Thu Jan 08 09:40AMWhat was KP'S response when he was asked why he lost $20 million dollars(or was it in sterlin) to the West Indies? He responded by saying, "They needed it more than us." What did he mean by this? hmmmm...
Now if You were all offered one million dollars just for one game, to be played in one day, forget about Queen and Country for a second, would you not give your all to win that money? My educated guess is that not only is he ignorant and arrogant, he is also immature to represent this great nation in any discipline. His appointment was an insult to the rest of the team. Come back Botham, all is forgiven.From paulakinrinlude on Thu Jan 08 09:54AMI am an open-mineded single girl who love sports. I want to end my single life by meeting
a guy who likes sports too. Let's mingle at the club ___ kISs M ill iona ireS Co m __From ememory2056 on Thu Jan 08 10:34AMI am a huge Thorpe fan, always have been, but perhaps he suffers the same mental dillusion Gascoigne does?
This Pietersen bashing will all soon come to an end when we realise that he consistantly scores half the runs in the team and saves us every other day on the pitch. Yes he acted immaturely, but this slating is a joke. I have to assume that the general English public would hope to see KP play for us for many a season and continue to head to be the best batsmen in the world...Let's have a look at character of genius batsmen shall we....Bradman, Lara, Tendulkar....Do any of them have great captain legacies....I don't think so....but they remained astonishing batsmen all of them as will KP. As for unrest in the dressing room....strong characters....anyone heard of Ian Botham......? Don't hear anyone slating beefdy for his approch? Get off KP's back and hope that he continues to play his heart out, for the country he chose to play for. For those ignorant few out there who play the South African card.....blame the administrators for allowing him to play for Enland, if you have to blame someone...
I hope Strauss will pull the dressing room together so the Ashes can come home.From hisjoker on Thu Jan 08 10:34AMEveryone knew exactly how big Kevs ego is , and that is fine if it can also be balanced by some common sense when needed . I think we now have the answer to whether he has common sense !!! The ECB has a lot to answer for they have let what was always a difficult situation get totally out of hand . Too many chiefs at ECB means no one seems to take responsibilty . All these reports that took panels months to put togethyer giving new direction , new structure etc have been proved useless , again too many voices instead of one strong leader
From billy.mckain on Thu Jan 08 11:38AMLCŃtor
From kenneth350 on Thu Jan 08 02:12PMI was also a Thorpe fan, but I don't appreciate the camel comment. South Africa isn't camel country you fool. Condescending.Why are the English and the Americans continually putting Africa in a box where everything and everyone should be the same. And we don't want KP back.
From baatjes_99 on Thu Jan 08 02:31PMThis is the first time I have agreed with Graham Thorpe, except for the minor biogeographical detail of putting camels on the wrong side of the continent. KP needs to learn some leadership skills to channel his otherwise great sporting capabilities. Damian, Fish Hoek
From damian_s on Thu Jan 08 02:38PMThorpe is drunk...how can it all be KP's fault? How about Flintoff a few years back? Dont be jealous.. KP made an error in judgement and he was also backstabbed by his mates...but dont make a feast of it....scandal-friendly Thorpe...by the way, there arent any camels in South Africa.. i take it as a tasteless joke from someone who grew up in Zimbabwe as well!!!
From blessingm22 on Thu Jan 08 03:20PM
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