England end KP's international career.

[Aidan11]

Sneers Morgan appears to be having a go at Matt Prior now.

[Alviro Patterson]

Considering we had a 33 year old opener struggling to make it past 20, his partner struggling to find anything but the edge of the bat, the number 3 going home arguably never to play again replaced by another opener/3 that was elevated but dropped by the end of the 5 matches for looking abhorrent, a number 5-7 combination of Prior/Bairstow/Ballance that have done nothing, in the former two's cases now arguably terminally for their career, and a number 6 inside a failing system that averages 35 for Durham and has clearly showed nothing over his career to suggest he is a sepcialist batsman.

As possible replacements, Compton and Taylor have effectively been shown they have no career, Patel is rubbish, and Borthwick is hardly a top 6 batter or good enough as a bowler to be picked at 8.......

Who is going to replace KP? Remember Ballance played in the Sydney test with him!!!! We going to have 3 new A team players next test?

Are the ECB realisitcally saying that we go with Carberry/Cook/Bell/Ballance/Root/Stokes/Bairstow??? Effectively 2 test match proven players with a mixture of unproven talent that has been shredded this series, a all rounder batting in a key top 6 position, and a non-specialist keeper?

Sorry, the ECB have hit their limit with me

Looking longer term England have 4 test series before the 2015 Ashes and 3 of those at home, so plenty of time for the next generation batsmen to bed in. Thankfully the Sri Lanka and India bowling attacks are not as potent as the Australian ones and the home wickets nowhere near as quick as Brisbane and Perth.

Would have thought James Taylor gets a chance of an England recall now KP is out of the picture, also Matt Prior to make a return to add experience and that Bairstow hasn't convinced as a keeper.

Cook, Carberry, Bell, Taylor, Root, Stokes, Prior, Bresnan, Borthwick, Broad, Anderson.

[from_the_stands]

Cook, Carberry, Bell, Taylor, Root, Stokes, Prior, Bresnan, Borthwick, Broad, Anderson.

It's not the worst looking England side I've ever seen.

[D/L]

...KP could now be an example of what an International cricket with no International connections can make on the T20 circuit.... could it be the start of others following suit if he is successful?

No. They have to be a "name" in international cricket to command the big payments on the "hit and giggle" circuit. To become a "name" they have to play and succeed in international cricket.

Yuvrag Singh's career is probably over, and he commands a huge salary in IPL... Uthappia also does, as does Yusuf Pathan, and Dave Hussey also

Yes, but like Peitersen, all more or less at the end of their international careers, having been big (or biggish) names. The domestic T20 circuit tends not to pay big money for players nearer the start of their careers and yet to make a name for themselves. Some will follow suit, but there will always be young players with great potential for whom international cricket is the bigger attraction.

[D/L]

...If the dressing room is better for him not being there then it's the correct decision but whatever the reason for not picking him it's a brave one.

I think we can safely assume that is the case, Albondiga. Being disliked is one thing but having someone in the camp who so furtively and, when it was revealed, so conspicuously demonstrated disloyalty is another. The only criticism of the decision I'd make is that it came rather too late.

Pietersen was a talented batsman. Of that that there can be little doubt. For quite a while, though, he has not justified the "high maintenance" that has seemingly always been needed to keep him happy.

[mikesiva]

'"People tend to look at young talent, match-winners and players whose calendars are free. Pietersen ticks all those attributes," a senior official with a franchise that has won the IPL in the past, said. "He is being portrayed as a bad boy. So he might have a huge point to prove. He might even want to lead the team and say that 'I am not a selfish player'," the official said. With the IPL imposing a cap of nine overseas players, franchises are likely to cut back on spending on foreigners. However, officials point out there are many factors that elevate Pietersen's status. At 33, Pietersen is a senior player. A batsman who can silence the opposition with his explosive batting as well as change gears with a calculated assault. A superb fielder, and a decent offspinner. "He will be a hot property, purely on the basis of his talent. He is a high-quality middle-order batsman. There are not really that many fitting that bill. You have explosive openers, but no one of his talent at No. 4 or 5," a franchise coach said. Pietersen missed out playing the last IPL because of an injury, but was seen around to promote the Delhi Daredevils brand. He had transferred to the franchise from the now defunct Deccan Chargers in 2012. Pietersen had made a grand entry into the IPL. Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him at the auction for the then record price of $1.55m, making him the joint-richest player in the IPL along with his former England team-mate Andrew Flintoff, who was bought at the same price by Chennai Super Kings. Pietersen played just six matches in his first year, but he was handed the captaincy immediately. He returned in 2010 to play seven matches at the back-end of the tournament and was instrumental in Royal Challengers finishing third. For Ray Jennings, the former Royal Challengers' coach, Pietersen was always captaincy material in addition to being a match-winner. "An icon player is leading from the front. KP is a definite game-breaker. He is a very methodical player. He has different ideas. He is a different type of cricketer. When people want to win badly and set high standards, sometimes they are quite difficult to work with. I never had problems with KP. It is a pleasure to work with a guy like that who wants to win all the time," Jennings said. Although franchise officials remain tightlipped about whether the former England captain might fetch over the $2 million Daredevils paid him, they are certain more than one team will be interested in him. Currently, Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad have vacancies and are likely to chase big-name players like Pietersen who could be part of the team's nucleus even if he does not get picked as a captain.'

http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-prem ... 16615.html

[yuppie]

When i see how England have handled KP, i wonder what they would have done with Warne if he had gone through the English system?

It really is an interesting thought.

England in the immediate future will be so much weaker for this. Im not really sure what they gain by this, and it will put alot more pressure on Cook and Bell to perform. No more excuses as they have axed the person who was to blame for everything.........

[Durhamfootman]

...If the dressing room is better for him not being there then it's the correct decision but whatever the reason for not picking him it's a brave one.

A very brave decision, bondy, but from where I stand, brave because of its potential to backfire spectacularly in the very near future.

If (and probably more likely to be 'when') England perform woefully with the bat in Bangladesh and crash out early, perhaps losing to a minnow in the process..... England leave themselves wide open to the 'Pietersen should have played' brigade.

If KP then scores a whole heap of runs in the IPL straight after the WC, they also lay themselves wide open to claims of incompetence and rash stupidity.

Had they kept their powder dry, included KP in the squad for the WC, and then England batted poorly with Pietersen in the team, who subsequently goes off and scores a shed load of runs for his IPL team, the implication would be that KP wasn't interested in playing for England and the management get applauded for ditching him before the SL tour.

Suddenly the worst case scenario for England is that KP performs magnificently and England have a terrific WC. A terrific WC? Wow.... what a bummer that would be.

Which might well be why Cook shafted KP, of course. A terrific T20 WC might make Broad look like a much better captain and put Cooks position at risk.... particularly after he spent the bulk of his 100 days in Oz looking like an uninspiring turnip.

[Durhamfootman]

I suppose the only suprising thing is that I actually considered the possibility that England wouldn't/couldn't be that flaming stupid

Footman.... what a plonker

I'll give myself a slap

[Albondiga]

well there's more to playing cricket than just scoring runs

Such as? Doesnt a better dressing room environment simply mean you want to channel it to score more runs? Or is cricket now simply an expression of male bonding for everyone to enjoy

No not simply and it is not simply a bonding exercise either ---- It is however a case of "the whole being more than the sum of the parts" and for that to happen you all have to be pulling in the same direction.

[ddb]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricke ... areer.html

Has this been posted yet?

[m@tt]

Only just been released, read it five min ago. Very disappointing to read that honest opinions (if made in KP's typically blunt way) in a private team meeting got leaked to Flower.

[from_the_stands]

It seems that off the field, England are as much of a shambles as they are on it.

[KipperJohn]

The tour was a shambles - the fall out is equally bad. I don't believe for one minute the rest of the tour party were all choir boys - KP may 'have form' but there is no way he should have been singled out in this way until a new team director had been appointed at the very least.-

There are some very bruised egos flying around, a lot of jockeying for position, and rank poor management throughout. For Downton to come in and make a huge decision like that within days of their return from a series which required a calm, rational, and detached review of all the issues, over time, simply beggars belief.

Throwing the baby out with the bath water springs to mind.

[Alviro Patterson]

So the Telegraph claim KP was an anti-Flower rant, but publishes something else?

That article is not worth the bandwidth used.