The enigma that is Kevin Pietersen

[shankycricket]

http://www.forwarddefensive.com/2012/07 ... pietersen/

Pretty much sums up my thoughts.

[Alviro Patterson]

So KP is sending out feelers for a return to limited overs internationals, but wants to play an entire IPL campaign? Surely retirement from test cricket is the answer, after all KP has nothing left to prove or achieve in the longer format.

[hopeforthebest]

So KP is sending out feelers for a return to limited overs internationals, but wants to play an entire IPL campaign? Surely retirement from test cricket is the answer, after all KP has nothing left to prove or achieve in the longer format.

I agree but in Aeptember so we can have time to look for a replacement before the ashes start.

[OffStumpYorker]

So KP is sending out feelers for a return to limited overs internationals, but wants to play an entire IPL campaign? Surely retirement from test cricket is the answer, after all KP has nothing left to prove or achieve in the longer format.

The question is does he still have goals in Test cricket, like becoming the first England player to score more than 22 test 100's, and reaching 10000 test runs. Hes 3 test 100's off that former record (though strauss is now only 2), and only a shade over 3000 runs short of the 8900 test run record held by Gooch, which will take him about 60 innings @50/innings.

Personally I think he'll quit at the end of the summer after the SA game if hes going to drop all international games, but there is one crucial matter, and that is his surrey contract is dependant on him having an ECB central contract. So he could be looking for a county spot but I dont think there are any counties that could afford to pay him the sort of salary hed be looking for, and hed end up playing more cricket in the summer than he would playing for England.

[rich1uk]

assuming the stories from last couple of days are true i dont really understand why he's doing what hes doing

you can only make demands from a position of strength and hes quite clearly not in that position any more , the ODI team whilst i still think he would improve it, has done fine without him and given the overall success the team have had over the last 3 or so years there is no way the ECB or flower are going to risk undermining that by changing the way they run things

he made a poor decision earlier this year imo and all he seems to be doing now is digging a deeper hole for himself and i think this last few months have meant any credibility he had with the ECB has been lost and i cant see them being keen to believe him even if he did hold out an olive branch now

all this is the last thing we really needed a few days before the start of the SA series and i really hope it doesn't cause any distractions within the dressing room as we are going to need everyone, including KP, at 100% to beat SA

[Making_Splinters]

The question shouldn't be what is KP doing but what are the ECB doing leaking potentially explosive stories to the press right before the biggest series of the summer?

As I mentioned before I dislike the way that the English media are able to use anonymous sources as it weakens the commitment to 100% accuracy in reporting but by jove what are they thinking!

[rich1uk]

The question shouldn't be what is KP doing but what are the ECB doing leaking potentially explosive stories to the press right before the biggest series of the summer?

As I mentioned before I dislike the way that the English media are able to use anonymous sources as it weakens the commitment to 100% accuracy in reporting but by jove what are they thinking!

very true

most of the blame tends to get pointed at KP but it does seem to be the ECB who are using the media and fuelling the fire

[Aidan11]

Sounds like (if true) the ECB are trying to make KP look bad.

I think Giles Clarke has previous for leaking stories although not suggesting this was down to him.

[hopeforthebest]

Why do you so readily accept the story (unconfirmed) that the leak came from the ECB. Pietersen is a great talker and there's more reason to believe he said something in the Surrey dressing room or at a Chelsea dinner party. Maybe his wife was at the hairdressers recently. You say you don't trust these Journalists but you do seem to, when it suits your prejudice toward the ECB.

[Making_Splinters]

Why do you so readily accept the story (unconfirmed) that the leak came from the ECB. Pietersen is a great talker and there's more reason to believe he said something in the Surrey dressing room or at a Chelsea dinner party. Maybe his wife was at the hairdressers recently. You say you don't trust these Journalists but you do seem to, when it suits your prejudice toward the ECB.

That is the suggestion coming from sources at the ECB.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/572662.html

[hopeforthebest]

Making_Splinters

So what. I posted that article yesterday and "That is the suggestion coming from sources at the ECB." comes from the typewriter of a journalist.

[Making_Splinters]

Indeed Hope which is of course where I got it from and both battingforbell and myself had already noted the anonymous source line being used.

Now if people want to say the journalist is flat out lying when he claims to have heard this from sources in the ECB then that's up to them.

[OffStumpYorker]

we all know the british media is far from being whiter than white, paying for inside information, from people that have little morals in regards to confidentiality, and in order to make a few quid Tax free on the side.

As for the ECB being the only ones doing the Leaking, KP's people are just as eager to leak these things if they think its in thier best interest to do so, but that is seen as acceptable.

[hopeforthebest]

The journalist doesn't claim he was told personally by a source from the ECB, so there's no accusation of lying involved, just a natural scepticisme toward these unattributed sources.

[D/L]

It may say something about Pietersen’s public persona that, whatever the source or the veracity of the latest revelations, many people will take them as being entirely credible.