The enigma that is Kevin Pietersen

[shankycricket]

Regardless of how badly the ECB have treated him, KP's retirement is a bit disappointing given what he said about his ODI future a couple of months back. But if he did not intend to play the 2015 World Cup, then he has left at the right time as now we have the time to bed a player in at the top of the order. Much better to retire now than retiring a year before the WC and leaving us in a Catch 22 situation. But a couple of months ago, KP said that he wanted to play the 2015 WC. So what exactly is it that has gone on behind the scenes that has forced him to change his mind?

[Alviro Patterson]

Word on the street is Kevin Pietersen asked ECB to be rested for half of the forthcoming ODIs. ECB said no but KP didn't like the response and mentioned Andrew Strauss got rested for the tour of Bangladesh as an example, ECB turned round and said to KP shouldn't have played in the IPL.

KP then decides to retire from ODI cricket but said he'll be available to play in Tests and T20Is, ECB said you have to retire from T20s as well as ODIs, KP went ahead with the retirement of limited overs cricket.

Sounds about right, willing to make loads of cash in IPL and not honour his ECB contract.

If I was in the ECB I'd go one step further and terminate KPs central contract, poor form for a player not fully committed to play for his country. In the real working world KP would be out of a job.

England are better off without KP, the guy is a show pony and a gambler when it comes to batting.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Really don't feel like that. As a player with long service to the England team, and about three years left in him, I thought KP could have been managed to everyone's benefit. It sounds like he could have been stretched to the next World Cup with better handling. I can quite understand if Pietersen did stop playing Tests now. He deserved some accommodation from the ECB.

The whole issue of player maintenance needs to be better understood, the effect of lack of home and family life for the older player. If KP was some tyro making these demands, it'd be different.

Other players have been treated much more sensitively.

[SaintPowelly]

Regardless of how badly the ECB have treated him, KP's retirement is a bit disappointing given what he said about his ODI future a couple of months back. But if he did not intend to play the 2015 World Cup, then he has left at the right time as now we have the time to bed a player in at the top of the order. Much better to retire now than retiring a year before the WC and leaving us in a Catch 22 situation. But a couple of months ago, KP said that he wanted to play the 2015 WC. So what exactly is it that has gone on behind the scenes that has forced him to change his mind?

I appreciate you are a KP fan, and I was until a few years ago, the Notts dressing room turned on him and then the Hants dressing room did too for good reason, he realises he can make more money doing something else and doesnt give a toss about whats in his way.

Thats of course until his county reaches a final, Hampshire telling him to piss off before the 2010 T20 finals day and then going onto win it, was the proudest I have ever been.

[SaintPowelly]

And before anyone says "I dont care abount county cricket, hes served England, blah blah blah" thats BS, without county cricket there wouldnt be KP, or there wouldnt be the next generation of English talent, who could all learn alot from KP if hes the god people seem to think he is.

[rich1uk]

all we have been hearing from the ECB since they made the decision to rest anderson from the test next week is about the volume of cricket we have coming up and the concerns over players workloads etc etc

so KP asks them to do exactly what they said they are planning to do with players anyway, especially those that play in all three formats, and they refuse and we end up in a stand-off where we now lose arguably our best batsman from all limited overs cricket. i know his ODI form has been poor but if we were to be successful in ODIs in the short term we needed an in-form KP

i dont have alot of sympathy with guys earning what these guys make pleading tiredness etc etc especially when they choose to play in the IPL for purely financial reasons but the ECB could have handled this a lot better as well

yes i am and have been a KP fan but to say we would be better off without him in tests as well is nothing but drivel coming from people who dont like him and would obviously prefer not to see us field our best side, and you call yourself cricket fans ?

[SaintPowelly]

The difference is, Anderson isnt knackered ( if he is ) from buggering off and playing elsewhere.

[SaintPowelly]

Im with DH/AP ( or whatever he calls himself nowadays ) on this one, no-one is bigger than the team, despite what KPs ego is telling him.

[Arthur Crabtree]

JA wasn't contracted at the IPL auction. Though he was available. Their circumstances aren't similar anyway. And not everyone should feel the same. But everyone should have some breathing space. Which now seems to be called wriggle room.

[rich1uk]

The difference is, Anderson isnt knackered ( if he is ) from buggering off and playing elsewhere.

thats irrelevant

the ECB have been quite clear that they want to rest people because of the heavy workload thats coming up , so wasn't KP asking them to do exactly what they have said they were already planning anyway ?

[SaintPowelly]

Its a bit different from being asked to have a rest and telling your employers you dont want to do your job though.

[SaintPowelly]

to put it simpler, if you need a rest, then either dont go and play foreign tournaments, or dont sign a central contract, cant pick and choose what you want.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I would be more flexible with an experienced player with good service. Trouble is, this situation is weighted by personal feelings about KP.

The waters here are thick with mud. There have been a multitude of compromises made, in many cases. The ECB could have extended that to Pietersen quite easily.

It has made things uncomfortable for itself by this stand. And the consequences haven't started to kick in yet.

[SaintPowelly]

But why should the ECB be flexible ??

The guy is tired from playing IPL, how is everyone missing the point. If he was tired from just international cricket, or even by honouring his Surrey contract, I may have some sympathy, but to go to India for 5 weeks and then to moan that your too tired to do a job that you are paid for, is disgraceful.

And this isnt personal against KP, if Dimi Mascarenhas came home from the IPL and complained he was too tired to play for Hants, I would wash my hands of him.

[rich1uk]

it wouldn't really have mattered what he did tbh , you would have criticised it

there have been mistakes on both sides in this issue , some people just get their jollies from blaming KP for everything tho

i think he was genuinely surprised when they refused his request and tried to call their bluff, but the ECB have decided to make an example to show how tough they are and the only people who are losing out are the fans, well the ones that dont have a personal dislike of KP anyway

do i agree with him picking and choosing the games he plays in, no i dont , he gets paid a helluva lot of money to play cricket and i dont really buy the tiredness issue, i want to see our best team play every single game. there could have been some sort of compromise reached however