The enigma that is Kevin Pietersen

[meninblue]

I remember Amir Sohail commentating something about Afridi and the next day Afridi literally took Amir to the cleaners with his statements.

(My underlining) What a strange thing to do!

Here it is in Hindi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhuk-f8OZh4

Interviewer: Amir said that you (Afridi) should have taken powerplay if he was keen to hit. So that is rubbish captaincy by Afridi.
Afridi: Amir himself is a rubbish person so he has talked rubbish and talking rubbish is Amir's habit.

[D/L]

I remember Amir Sohail commentating something about Afridi and the next day Afridi literally took Amir to the cleaners with his statements.

(My underlining) What a strange thing to do!

My apologies, sba. “Literally” can have a similar meaning to “really”, or “actually”. I’m sure there was really no visit to a place that takes in cleaning!

[Arthur Crabtree]

According to the CSA release, KP didn't text Steyn or ABDV.

I'm not religious, but I think Boycott should mind the plank in his own eye.

[hopeforthebest]

Withe the test match begining tomorrow and in the light of the statement from Strauss I cannot see this matter is going to provide much movement in the next day or so. Probably the Saturday announcement of the T20 squad is the next signpost.

[shankycricket]

EDIT: And Geoff Boycott says pretty much the same thing:

Then we had the last straw. Texting comments to the opposition about the captain was unforgivable. Telling them how to bowl and get him out is simply not acceptable and deserves a public apology.

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

It’s not often Geoffrey’s wrong, but he’s right again.

Presumably, you agree with this too?
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-s ... 73827.html

[meninblue]

I remember Amir Sohail commentating something about Afridi and the next day Afridi literally took Amir to the cleaners with his statements.

(My underlining) What a strange thing to do!

My apologies, sba. “Literally” can have a similar meaning to “really”, or “actually”. I’m sure there was really no visit to a place that takes in cleaning!

Wrong use of words by me, as it sometimes happens.

[D/L]

EDIT: And Geoff Boycott says pretty much the same thing:

Then we had the last straw. Texting comments to the opposition about the captain was unforgivable. Telling them how to bowl and get him out is simply not acceptable and deserves a public apology.

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

It’s not often Geoffrey’s wrong, but he’s right again.

Presumably, you agree with this too?
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-s ... 73827.html

I did at the time the article was written. However, after Finn's performance at Headingley, I’ve changed my mind. I wouldn’t be surprised if Boycott has changed his too.

[D/L]

I said earlier that Kevin hadn't acted regrettably. I should amend that a bit, so allow that some of actions haven't been what you would like, but these have mostly been motivated under a particular pressure. Such as, when isolated within the England dressing room, turning to SA friends for a release of pressure. You can't say that is a good thing for a team member to do. But it is an understandable thing for a human being to do. And as Vic Marks said in the link I posted earlier, absolutely unremarkable.

Viewed out of context, there are incidents you'd prefer KP not to have got involved in. But they didn't happen out of context.

Do you know all this, or are you just whistling in the wind, AC? Is it not possible that Pietersen created at least part of the context?

[D/L]

According to the CSA release, KP didn't text Steyn or ABDV...

How strange. SA captain, Smith, has just been on the wireless to say that they didn’t reveal the texts to the press.

[Alviro Patterson]

Arthur, Indian management and thinktank were keen to get rid of Vinod Kambli due to his antics. Some boards have not at all tolerated the distractions and rightfully so IMO. Players who cause concerns are more likely to be proactively monitored or maybe even sidelined by the administrators if he becomes a regular distraction.

I'm sure the ECB started out trying to defend their contract ideas for ODI cricket, which they felt were threatened by KP's personal demands, particularly concerning T20 and ODI cricket. Has it eventually become a contest, perhaps personality based, the Board protecting what it has in any way possible, with whatever means to hand? It looks that way at the moment.

Yes, i felt the same recently. However, that will also mean that Morgan, Broad, Dimi, Luke etc will be applied same contract. So i doubt it's KP Vs ECB. It is more like ECB wanting the presence of KP, Broad, Morgan, Dimi, Luke etc to play more for England than for IPL, BigBash, SLPL, BPL etc.

Luke Wright and Dimi Mascarenhas will be likely to be offered incremental contracts with them being limited overs specialists, (same as Jade Dernbach and Craig Keiswetter) should they ever play for England again. These contracts have that bit more flexibility to play in domestic overseas T20 tournaments should they not conflict with England matches.

Central contracts are offered to those who are in the test squad and up for renewal next month, time will well whether KP will get his renewed.

[hopeforthebest]

Cricinfo George Dobell


http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/con ... 77536.html

[Making_Splinters]

I've been highly impressed with Strauss since he made the move to get involved in the entire issue and I have little doubt that his imput is one of the main reasons that we've finally seen the situation start to settle down with all parties being more open to trying to get a resolution sorted. It's such a shame that others are not cut from the same cloth as he is and secondly that he didn't step in earlier.

He's never been one to welcome stepping into the breach - his intial responce to being offered the captaincy following the Moores debacle was actually to say it would be better to pick a younger player in Cook - but I genuinely hope that once he hangs up his bat he picks up his suit and heads into working for the game in England from the board room.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I'm just hearing the party line from Strauss, Splinters. Though it would be difficult for him to say anything other. Maybe Pietersen trusts him a little more than the others though.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Smith and the South Africans sound pretty nonplussed by the furore that has emerged over KPs texts.

[Making_Splinters]

Arthur, it would have been easy for Strauss to walk in and end KPs international career by saying "I want him gone" and that would have been that, but he didn't. In the three or so statements he's made - I'm not sure how many times he's actually talked but I've seen a couple of independent sets of quotes from him - he's taken a much more difficult route:

Firstly by making sure that KP knows he's not another one who's using the situation to get their personal knives in his back by publically saying they get on. Secondly he's taken a stance of it's not a single individual who is the issue - unlike the 10 - 1 comments some of his team mates have been throwing about - by saying that the team has to have a mutual respect of each other essentially if 10 people do not respect 1 person then the 10 are in the wrong just as much as the 1 is. Finally he's actually criticised everyone's handling of the issue by repeatedly saying that he dislikes such issues being in public and making express mention of Press Statements which is something that no one else aside from a handfull of posters on here and a couple of other comments sections have been prepared to draw fault with, it comes as no great suprise that Morris has made such explicit comments about the importance of the issue from here on out being behind closed doors since Strauss has stepped in.

That's not the party line, that's a far more difficult path to tread and he has done so in the vein of a master diplomat.