The enigma that is Kevin Pietersen

[shankycricket]

I think if KP wanted to continue to playing ODIs but pick and choose which ODIs he plays in then that would have been wrong. But people need to understand that ODI and T20I are two different formats FFS and there are a lot of players all over the world who play in only one of those two formats and do pretty well. Michael Clarke, for the starters.

[Making_Splinters]

When the ECB have no qualms letting other players choose which series they play in - Strauss in Bangladesh - forcibly rest other players who don't even want to be rested - Jimmy in the upcomming test or Bell for the Bears - and have complete control over when their players do or do not play then it's absolutely crazy for them to turn round and say no to a player who wants some time off, if of course that is the case.

[shankycricket]

When the ECB have no qualms letting other players choose which series they play in - Strauss in Bangladesh - forcibly rest other players who don't even want to be rested - Jimmy in the upcomming test or Bell for the Bears - and have complete control over when their players do or do not play then it's absolutely crazy for them to turn round and say no to a player who wants some time off, if of course that is the case.

Maybe but as I said those guys didnt go to the IPL. The fact that he is not allowed to choose his formats though is ludicrous. Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke would not have been able to play the 2011 WC if they played for England as they had retired from T20I beforehand.

[Making_Splinters]

When the ECB have no qualms letting other players choose which series they play in - Strauss in Bangladesh - forcibly rest other players who don't even want to be rested - Jimmy in the upcomming test or Bell for the Bears - and have complete control over when their players do or do not play then it's absolutely crazy for them to turn round and say no to a player who wants some time off, if of course that is the case.

Maybe but as I said those guys didnt go to the IPL. The fact that he is not allowed to choose his formats though is ludicrous. Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke would not have been able to play the 2011 WC if they played for England as they had retired from T20I beforehand.

KP was only allowed to go to the IPL on the agreement of the ECB which they would have made knowing what the upcoming season was, other boards have no issue setting out how much a player can play for example CSA saying Vernon could only play 2 out of 3 games in England while he was here. If the ECB refused to allow KP rest then they did so expecting him to play every game this summer after allowing him to play in the IPL poor player management by the ECB and differential standards seeing as they allow or force other players do the same.

[shankycricket]

When the ECB have no qualms letting other players choose which series they play in - Strauss in Bangladesh - forcibly rest other players who don't even want to be rested - Jimmy in the upcomming test or Bell for the Bears - and have complete control over when their players do or do not play then it's absolutely crazy for them to turn round and say no to a player who wants some time off, if of course that is the case.

Maybe but as I said those guys didnt go to the IPL. The fact that he is not allowed to choose his formats though is ludicrous. Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke would not have been able to play the 2011 WC if they played for England as they had retired from T20I beforehand.

KP was only allowed to go to the IPL on the agreement of the ECB which they would have made knowing what the upcoming season was, other boards have no issue setting out how much a player can play for example CSA saying Vernon could only play 2 out of 3 games in England while he was here. If the ECB refused to allow KP rest then they did so expecting him to play every game this summer after allowing him to play in the IPL poor player management by the ECB and differential standards seeing as they allow or force other players do the same.

Oh! Didnt know that. In that case, its ridiculous. The ECB should be ashamed.

[D/L]

Pietersen has a central contract which does not allow players to pick and choose between formats and which, I think, runs until September this year. Technically, if he rules himself out of ODI selection this season, he will be in breach of that contract and certainly he has no right to pick and choose the matches he plays in.

What happens in other countries or Pietersen’s playing record is neither her nor there. For the ECB to make an exception for Pietersen, and thereby creating a precedent, may be the top of the slippery slope towards the sort of indulgence shown towards players in other sports, most notably soccer. I don’t think any cricket lover would want to see the sport in this country go in that particular direction.

[Making_Splinters]

Pietersen has a central contract which does not allow players to pick and choose between formats and which, I think, runs until September this year. Technically, if he rules himself out of ODI selection this season, he will be in breach of that contract and certainly he has no right to pick and choose the matches he plays in.

What happens in other countries or Pietersen’s playing record is neither her nor there. For the ECB to make an exception for Pietersen, and thereby creating a precedent, may be the top of the slippery slope towards the sort of indulgence shown towards players in other sports, most notably soccer. I don’t think any cricket lover would want to see the sport in this country go in that particular direction.

Strauss, Vaughan an Colly all retired from formats during their contracts, already been done by other players with no great fuss.

And why should it matter whether a player wants to play in all formats or two or just one? They have already bent the rules for other players in the past, other countries have already shown that allowing players to retire from formats individually does not create this slope.

Seems to be far more about the player than actually anything to do with what has happened, since it has happened both within the ECB and abroad with no fuss and finger pointing.

[SaintPowelly]

NO, the problem is, Pietersen is tired because he went to the IPL, if he needed a break, that was his opportunity.

[SaintPowelly]

The ECB allowed KP to go to the IPL on the understanding it didnt affect his England commitments.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Picking and choosing is just another way of saying he was seeking accommodation. Everyone should have a right to ask for flexibility from their employer, particularly those with long service.

I can see why the IPL rankles with some. If it was regarding a player who had given less of their life to international cricket, I might feel he was being unreasonable. But not someone approaching the last third of his career who has contributed a great deal.

I can't see that what you put in doesn't entitle you to something back, even if it means the ECB has to do a little bending. As they have done elsewhere. Most workers in those circumstances would just leave. Which is what happened. The ECB has failed to keep a key player on side by insisting on imposing some difficult to defend regulation. Possibly to send a message to the others, which is always ethically dubious.

[SaintPowelly]

Where is all this BS about him giving his all to international cricket coming from, he refuses to play county cricket.

[Arthur Crabtree]

He's played quite a bit more for England than anyone else in the last ten years. Which is a lot of cricket. As far as i remember, he missed about six months with an injury, and was dropped for an ODI series. About which he was (now ironically) very annoyed.

It's the constantly being away from home. Now Pietersen has slightly different responsibilities, and is older. It's time for the ECB to get the most they can out of the years he has left. They have failed.

[D/L]

The ECB allowed KP to go to the IPL on the understanding it didnt affect his England commitments.

Yes, that is the important difference. Pietersen seems to want to "have his cake and eat it". It's good that the ECB are taking a stand against this. If Pietersen gets too tired to meet all his England commitments it would not be right that he alone were able to choose to play in one of the one day formats, but not the other.

[D/L]

It's a pity that we'll lose Pietersen from ODIs, but it seems, unless he has a change of heart, that would have happened whatever the ECB chose to do. As for losing him from Twenty20, personally I couldn't care less. It's not a format I watch with any real interest.

[SaintPowelly]

I dont particularly care for international cricket at all, but if Dimi Mascarenhas had of come back from the IPL and complained he was too tired to play for us, I would be outraged.