The enigma that is Kevin Pietersen

[Aidan11]

KP appears to have broken this board.

[Aidan11]

Ah it's back to normal now.

[rich1uk]

The thing that pisses me off most in these latest events is that Pietersen stock is rising, ridiculous when you consider he's responsible for most of the shite that has happened.

what exactly was pietersen responsible for budget ?

was it his decision to appoint downton ?

was it his decision to re-appoint moores ?

was it his decision to keep cook as ODI captain for the whole of last year when it was patently obvious he wasn't up to it and restricting the opportunities for other players ?

was it his decision to then drop cook on the eve of the tournament and give it to morgan ?

was it his decision to go to the world cup with a woefully one dimensional squad ?

was it his decision to change the balance of the team on the even of the first game and bring ballance in at #3 dropping taylor to #6 ?

was it his decision that the ECB chairman called our next test opponents mediocre just before failing to beat them ?

was it his decision to make extremely conservative selection decisions throughout that tour that made little sense ?

was it his decision to appoint strauss, leak it to the media that strauss's first act would be to sack moores while there was a game in progress ?

just what exactly was pietersen's role in any of those factors that means he has been responsible for most of the "shite" that has happened ?

[pompeymeowth]

Budget is a Hampshire fan. They bear an understandable grudge with KP.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Budget is a Hampshire fan. They bear an understandable grudge with KP.

I disliked him before he joined Hampshire.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Strauss says that Pietersen is not going to be considered for selection.

He says that this isn't on the basis of ability or merit.

He says it is because he doesn't trust him, and thinks he is bad for the team.

But he offers him a job coaching these players.

Is this the worst job offer you've ever heard. Strauss' reputation for man management has taken a bit of a smear. Why would you even do that? Did Strauss think he would look better if KP refused to take a job from him? It's utterly weird.

[dan08]

Sangakkara: "I don't trust KP enough for him to play for England but I trust him enough to advise me on ODI cricket" #strausslogic

[budgetmeansbudget]

The thing that pisses me off most in these latest events is that Pietersen stock is rising, ridiculous when you consider he's responsible for most of the shite that has happened.

what exactly was pietersen responsible for budget ?

was it his decision to appoint downton ?

was it his decision to re-appoint moores ?

was it his decision to keep cook as ODI captain for the whole of last year when it was patently obvious he wasn't up to it and restricting the opportunities for other players ?

was it his decision to then drop cook on the eve of the tournament and give it to morgan ?

was it his decision to go to the world cup with a woefully one dimensional squad ?

was it his decision to change the balance of the team on the even of the first game and bring ballance in at #3 dropping taylor to #6 ?

was it his decision that the ECB chairman called our next test opponents mediocre just before failing to beat them ?

was it his decision to make extremely conservative selection decisions throughout that tour that made little sense ?

was it his decision to appoint strauss, leak it to the media that strauss's first act would be to sack moores while there was a game in progress ?

just what exactly was pietersen's role in any of those factors that means he has been responsible for most of the "shite" that has happened ?

I'm not referring to the shite on the pitch or the selection decisions taken in recent times, I'm referring to all the shite that has led to these so called trust issues, like his relationships with certain players, the texts, the book, the massive ego.......

[budgetmeansbudget]

Nice to have you back rich, where've you been?

[budgetmeansbudget]

I think this is a clever tactic by Strauss, create a siege mentality within the England camp, create stronger team spirit, with a view to destroying the Australians in the Ashes.

[Alviro Patterson]

I thought Pietersen wanted to help England in any way he could, now he turns down the opportunity of an advisory position, double standards I call it. He really is an arse.

Up to Kevin Pietersen to rebuild the trust with the ECB so he can play for England again.

[dan08]

I think this is a clever tactic by Strauss, create a siege mentality within the England camp, create stronger team spirit, with a view to destroying the Australians in the Ashes.

And then made to look like an idiot when we get thrashed.

[sussexpob]

Sangakkara: "I don't trust KP enough for him to play for England but I trust him enough to advise me on ODI cricket" #strausslogic

Not the first time Kumar has spoken out on KP...... in fact, the whole Surrey team were out in support of how great he has been there yesterday.

I think this is a clever tactic by Strauss, create a siege mentality within the England camp, create stronger team spirit, with a view to destroying the Australians in the Ashes.

Create a siege mentality? The ECB have been full on "Stalingrad" since Jan 2014, at this point the team are reduced to licking the glue of wallpaper, eating rats, and making bread out of sawdust while the Luftwaffe drop 25,000lbs of high explosives on them everynight.

[budgetmeansbudget]

I think this is a clever tactic by Strauss, create a siege mentality within the England camp, create stronger team spirit, with a view to destroying the Australians in the Ashes.

And then made to look like an idiot when we get thrashed.

Not really as most people expect us to be thrashed in anycase.

[Arthur Crabtree]

It's not going to work like that Budget. The press don't like KP, so they're not going to criticise the decision.

Aside from Cook, and probably Anderson, the players quite like Pietersen and the younger ones have been appreciative of how he has helped them. They've seen how having independent thought and a strong personality goes down with various ECB managers. 'Offering' KP a job has backfired because it implies that there really isn't an impasse between Kevin and the team; if he was toxic, would they ask him to take care of the kids?

I realise you may be joking, Budget, but the real positive on this depends on how strongly you feel it is a good thing that Steely remains unchallenged as captain.