The enigma that is Kevin Pietersen

[Gingerfinch]

Is Graves due to speak to the press tomorrow?

Could be interesting.

"KP was too mediocre to be included in our team"?

"I'm an idiot"?

[Aidan11]

Is Graves due to speak to the press tomorrow?

Could be interesting.

"KP was too mediocre to be included in our team"?

"I'm an idiot"?

I'd like him to say "Strauss has gone over my head, the ****".

[#Brown]

Of course there’s more to it than Strauss simply being vindictive, don’t buy into the Morgan hype. He stated a few weeks ago that he thought selecting him would be a backward step for English cricket. With his directive being medium-long term improvement, why would you select a troublesome 35 yr old solution to the one problem England don’t have at the moment (as Yorker and others have said).

It’s interesting to see that those with axes to grind (or something to gain from a sporting management perspective), seem keen to push this blame onto Cook. After all the problems that KP and his cheerleaders have caused over the last year, you can understand him not wanting the hassle (especially after opening the door for KP once). Was also interesting to see Stokes of all players calling Lineker out the rubbish he was talking yesterday.

One potentially positive thing is that I’ve had three otherwise uninterested (or should that be disinterested…) colleagues talk to me about cricket today. Slightly naughty question considering how divided the long-term fans are, but from Graves’s perspective is publicity ever a bad thing…

[rich1uk]

the annoying thing about this whole thing is the ECB are basically using the KP situation to deflect attention from all of the problems

this isn't about KP anymore, or shouldn't be, this isn't about whether he should be back in the team or not, and despite being a long-time KP fan I don't want him back anyway. this is about the credibility of the ECB as an organisation, this is about double standards being applied whether your face fits or not, or should that be whether you are "from the right stock"

I don't see how even the most ardent KP "hater" can deny the fact he had a massive carrot dangled in front of him by graves, personally I think they didn't expect him to do what he did and by not calling their bluff and just going to the IPL it would have given them all the ammunition they needed to say that showed he really didn't care about getting back into the team after all. now that he has called their bluff and made some runs, I agree that the opposition was weak and therefore how much we can read into those runs is open to debate, but he has done what they asked, and after that they turn round and say nothing has changed, not that they don't think he has showed sufficient form or that he needs to do more but that he is "unselectable" because of trust issues. how could anyone not feel betrayed by that sequence of events.

just one last thing on strauss's appointment and people defending him. in under a week he has leaked his intention to sack moores to the media before telling moores himself, whilst moores was involved in a game. he has confirmed morgan as ODI captain based on what I am not sure, and he has offered KP a job as an advisor at the same time as telling him he cant be trusted.

and this is the guy whose integrity we are meant to take as unquestionable and that he will do the right thing for English cricket ? maybe he will but his actions so far really contradict that argument.

[GarlicJam]

All of the emotions on this thread, summed up by a baby:

[Aidan11]

What if Jason Gillespie is given the Head Coach job and insists he wants to pick KP?

Then they go to the next candidate who insists on the same.....and so on, and so on.......

[rich1uk]

All of the emotions on this thread, summed up by a baby:

thanks for reminding me why I stopped posting last week ...

[Aidan11]

Gillespie : So can I pick who I want?

Strauss: Yes

Gilly : Ok, I'll pick KP

Strauss : Except KP

Gilly: Ok then I'll pick Samit Patel

Strauss: Bugger

[Gingerfinch]

What if Jason Gillespie is given the Head Coach job and insists he wants to pick KP?

Then they go to the next candidate who insists on the same.....and so on, and so on.......

That's my main gripe. Too many chiefs, and who is chief chief?

[Arthur Crabtree]

KP has been sacked twice for the same, extremely dubious, offence. I don't know how it can be defended.

Unusual offence for sure, but then I don't think the dressing room has ever experienced a malevolent character of this type too often before.

It's hard to say. Certainly, everyone who offered an opinion from within the dressing room after the series, said KP was good with them, and not disruptive.

Anyone reminded of Boycott's refusal to play with Greig? Only in that case, it was the refusenik who was had to go into the wilderness.

[Arthur Crabtree]

It cost them more to defend him.

[Aidan11]

Strauss: Tell you what, I'll pick the team

Gilly: What??? Then what should I do

Strauss: Just watch them from the balcony

Gilly: Is that it?

Strauss: Well there's a laptop that the last bloke left behind. Use that

Gilly: What sites should I go on?

Strauss: Whatever you want...FB, Twitter...avoid a site called "CMS" though.

[Aidan11]

Anyone reminded of Boycott's refusal to play with Greig? Only in that case, it was the refusenik who was had to go into the wilderness.

Wasn't it Mike Denness he had a problem with, not Greig?

[Arthur Crabtree]

Maybe both! No, Denness was earlier. Boycott came back when Greig lost the captaincy in the lead up to Packer.

[Aidan11]

Was KP being sarcastic on Twitter when he said he was applying for the coaching job after a lot of thought overnight?