Graham Thorpe

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.

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"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." great credentials.
Pietersen gave the TEAM a bit of @#$% at least...
From ginger_ape1 on Wed Jan 07 03:50PM
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I have always been an fan of Thorpy and atlast someone speaks some sence on this matter
From neil.podro on Wed Jan 07 03:51PM
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Headlines in The Sydney Morning Herald: Chaos reigns, Poms in a mess. It says it all, the Aussies must be laughing all the way to the Ashes.
Wouldn't you think that, so called, 'grown men' would find some way to sort out their diffrences without causing a English cricket to be come a an international joke,
Teleman2003
From tonyadshead on Wed Jan 07 03:55PM
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Well said Mr Thorpe, those are my sentiments exactly. Here is a cricketer who is putting himself above his team. A similar situation developed in the West Indies Team.No names mentioned. Disunity ,disrespect, prima donnaism, create disunity and, have no place in any team sport, no matter how good a player believes he or she is. A team's success depends on all palyers respecting each other, respecting their 0fficials, and not making excuses for their mistakes. In other words get on with the game and keep your comments to yourself.
Karl Mayers
Retired Cricket Coach.
From karljemmott on Wed Jan 07 03:58PM
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Thats what you get when you have people in your joke of a team that don't even come from your country. Whats happened to national pride? Muppets, the lot of you!
From vincemarrazzo on Wed Jan 07 04:07PM
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England are 'born losers' and proud of it and this is just another route to acieving that goal. This affliction is also suffered by the England football team. Also shows in individuals like Henman,Radcliffe etc.
From kevin.greene1k on Wed Jan 07 04:09PM
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Chase KP away, he didn't want SA so we didn't want him maybe he will emigrate to India or Pakistan now
From kobus001 on Wed Jan 07 04:22PM
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What were Andrew Strauss's "personal problems"?? Never heard of any?
From benji90 on Wed Jan 07 04:22PM
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and your jealousy thorpey would have made you a good captain? slagging the england captain off in public is good for the english game?
You couldnt wait for something to pounce on. made your xmas i bet
From safe574 on Wed Jan 07 04:37PM
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Camels in South Africa?
From ostryzniuk_design on Wed Jan 07 04:38PM
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Vincemarrazo....ha ha your name is vince, unlucky you ozzy bell
From farrall21 on Wed Jan 07 04:45PM
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give the captins job to alister cook
, build a squad around a young ENGLISH player
From rachel.castle1 on Wed Jan 07 04:46PM
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BUT IF YOU MAKE STRAUSS CAPTAIN ?HOLD ONHE ALSO COME FROM SOUTH AFRICA DOESNT HE AND NO SA CRICKET DIDNT WANT HIM THERE IS NO PLACE IN SA CRICKET FOR PEOPLE LIKE HIM AND THERE IS NO CAMELS IN SOUTH AFRICA GO BACK TO SCHOOL
From lauraserfontein on Wed Jan 07 04:51PM
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I think the only camels in S.A. would be in a zoo, what a bellend!!
From luke.walker on Wed Jan 07 04:54PM
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Freddie to the rescue?!?!?!
From matt_luckhurst on Wed Jan 07 04:56PM
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I think you mkix a strong bloke like pieterson with an untried coach at international level which is a diffrent world to county cricket and you have what you have got a bloody mess due to the so called captain thinking he knew best
From epc4umidlands on Wed Jan 07 05:08PM
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The expected round of Pommie Bashers and wana be's who have never played the game and have about as much talent as the average slug. One or two excellent comments though. Thorpy was a brilliant cricketer and has probably still got more talent than most of us would be players have got today. He clearly understands what is needed to make a team work and has expressed it clearly. KP is a strong character and needs a strong captain as he doesnt have the skills to do the job off the field himself. England is a multi racial society some commentators need to understand that and live with the fact that this will inevitably bring to the surface people with ties to other countries who are at the top of english sport. live with it and embrace it guys it makes or country richer in what it offers. If you dont like it why be here. I am sure that your own native shores would welcome you back. Or is it that you wished that you qualified?
From theonly008uk on Wed Jan 07 05:14PM
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Alastaire Cooke is the obvious choice, build a new team around him, he is also good enough to keep his place long term, come on England, be a little adventurous, give the poms a captain they can be proud of, as an Aussie it is vital to my summer enjoyment levels to have a competitive test series, perhaps Captain Birdseye might be a better choice! Ned Kelly
From jcastledineruiz on Wed Jan 07 05:30PM
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The biggest problem with KP is that he thinks he is better than anyone or any team. Please let him be reminded that there is no "I" in team. His public spat with the coach just shows how much of an ego this so-called superstar has - when in reality what has he done to prove it. That's right, nothing! A model professional like Sachin Tedulkar he will never be!
From babyoil1_2000 on Wed Jan 07 05:32PM
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This article is like the pot calling the kettle black. Especially the line; "but the team should always come first and you should try to hammer out your differences". Wasn't it Thorpe who had to leave a tour early and miss a few tours due to his problems. Kevin Pieterson was the first English captain since Ian Botham with the right attitude and winning mentality. Back to the same old same old for English cricket it seems.
From wilsonstevie on Wed Jan 07 05:36PM
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Didn't Keppler Wessels play for Australia?
From gregorydandm on Wed Jan 07 05:49PM
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who cares cricket is @#$%
From brynclegg_4 on Wed Jan 07 05:50PM
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Dead right Rachel build the team around Cook forget Strauss's 2 fluke centuries like Boycott he likes medium-fast & spinners which h
he wont find in Windies & Aussie team.
From lenbate46 on Wed Jan 07 05:56PM
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Still a wee bit sore that he got your test place Graeme . For the life of me i don,t understand the problem , i think what KP done was the only thing he could have done under the circumstances , apart from doing it over the phone . If the management now go ahead and sack Moores then they obviously agree with him . Picking Bell for the W Indies tour was his folly .
From amcf1969 on Wed Jan 07 05:59PM
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Coz Thorpey was such a team man. What was it? ooh the Aussies are coming, my back hurts. Not sure Pietersen would ever duck out when fast bowlers are coming his way.
From khart052003 on Wed Jan 07 06:03PM
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Peterson is a very imature peron, as Captain you should not be slagging off players from the otherside as he does. Also he can be very iratic giving away the game. Vaughan is a gentleman and lets hope we get somebody like him (who is English)!!
From bill.andchristine on Wed Jan 07 06:30PM
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i personally think strauss will do a better job anyway
From ryan3mandy on Wed Jan 07 06:55PM
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Cricket is a waste of a good pitch
From erkon9 on Wed Jan 07 07:13PM
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its too polite. this is the problem with eglish cricket that some players get too much attetion and become bigger then the team. media and ever one treat them like god. peter moore should not been sacked. but kevin must get the punishment for this mess. he should be droped from the team.
From taimur_glab on Wed Jan 07 07:18PM
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I think the selectors need to be held responsible to some extent for the debacle that has occurred...they appointed KP despite all the evidence pointing to his limited leadership skills and manifest lack of experience. Ditto the coach. No place to hide from cause and effect! David
From dtcrombie on Wed Jan 07 08:11PM
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