General cricket thread

[Gargamel]

spikeyhead said:

I'm glad someone else appreciates my batting skills

Yeah C'mon Mr spikeyhead, tell us again how you hit Brett Lee for consecutive sixes, it's our favourite....

[zygalski]

Gargamel said:

There is some crap spouted on here.

KP never apologised for the fact that he is a shot maker and risk taker, st that's why he was box office, entertaining and that's what we played him for. Cook CANNOT win you a match in a single session. KP can and has done so.

The team too often were 3 down and KP was walking out with the ball less than 20 overs old and less than 50 runs on the board....

But Pietersen's Test average has been in steady decline since 2011.
He's just not all that any more. Certainly not worth the hassle, regardless of how well he can smash 3rd rate bowling all around the park in one particular county game.

[Murph7355]

Gargamel said:

I am not calling for KP to be back in the Test side.

I think Graves has behaved in a way that calls into question his integrity. Strauss is there to do a job, and I have no issue with the decision. But the leaks, the spurious reasons and the communications are just awful.

To offer a way back, then slam the door is no way to treat people. It still smacks of a cosy old boys club where your face fits or you are "not one of us" and I hate that attitude too.

KP is spikey, for sure, but he is AT LEAST as sinned against as a sinner.

Personally I would part with money to watch KP bat, not sure I feel the same about the current side.

We don't know at all what was said or promised. We only have a bitter KP and Graves' account which could easily be back pedalling.

The petulant way KP has behaved over the last few years, however, I can easily see someone saying "we'll consider it if..." in the face of incessant bleating. We'll, they considered it and the answer was no. Sorry.

[Cheib]

Murph7355 said:

We don't know at all what was said or promised. We only have a bitter KP and Graves' account which could easily be back pedalling.

The petulant way KP has behaved over the last few years, however, I can easily see someone saying "we'll consider it if..." in the face of incessant bleating. We'll, they considered it and the answer was no. Sorry.

This is ALL Graves fault. If he hadn't said "get yourself a county and score runs" the last 48 hours would never have happened. What a fking idiot.

[johnxjsc1985]

Murph7355 said:

We don't know at all what was said or promised. We only have a bitter KP and Graves' account which could easily be back pedalling.

The petulant way KP has behaved over the last few years, however, I can easily see someone saying "we'll consider it if..." in the face of incessant bleating. We'll, they considered it and the answer was no. Sorry.

So you don't know what was said but happy to make something up thats fits your point of view???

[Tallow]

ChasW said:

I don't think you can compare Boycott, Botham and Flintoff with Pietersen. Whilst talented and something of mavericks Botham and Flintoff were committed team players who, at times, carried the team through exceptional performances and sheer determination. I'd argue that Boycott was more a belligerent individual who believed that as an opening batsman if he personally did well then the team would generally have a good foundation for a decent score. As for KP I think he is only ever concerned for himself. The incidents of irresponsible shot selection when England just needed a bit stability for a session outweigh some of his spectacular knocks in my opinion. Furthermore how can someone who, in the past, has been expelled from dressing rooms by his colleagues be seen as a committed team player. The rants in the past 24 hours only re-inforce my view that he is a petulant self-centred child. I support Strauss and wished he had been firmer.

I have never played professional sport but captained amateur cricket and football teams and managed teams at all levels in the workplace. My experience that talent, toxicity and team don't go together. At least in the workplace you can shape a job around a talented person who is disruptive if you value them that much. I wouldn't touch KP with a barge pole.

I totally agree. An extremely well worded synopsis IMO, much better than how I put my POV!

[johnxjsc1985]

Cheib said:

Boycott was pretty unpopular as I recall....as you would be if you'd run out most of your team mates at one stage or another. He and Botham definitely didn't get on. In fact Sir Geoffery is about as hypocritical as you can get in the commentary box.....he played for himself and no on else.

Didnt Botham deliberatley run him out.
Different Sport but Christiano Ronaldo lives in his own universe he plays for team CR7 but as a consequence Real madrid profit from it.
it gone past KP now and its more about the management of the ECB and how they have managed to shoot themselves in the foot before a ball of summer cricket has been bowled.
Alex Stewart made a very good point in so much as most of the ECB bods have been changed so who is it that doesn't trust him ....answers on a postcard please to Andrew Strauss.
All that needed to be said last year was Sorry Kev but thats your lot I am afraid thanks for all your efforts.

[Leithen]

Bloke sends text messages to competitor slagging off his boss. Allegedly includes info helping competitor against his own company.

Gets fired. (Final straw)

A few years in the wilderness later he wants his job back.

Gets the nod that despite being a tt his former company might take him back if he's able to bring something to the table.

Discovers his former Boss is now Director level and directly responsible for new hires.

Gets told to politely fk off.

Goes crying to anyone who will hear him about how unfair it is.

[ChasW]

Love it!

That's how it works in the real world.

[Murph7355]

johnxjsc1985 said:

So you don't know what was said but happy to make something up thats fits your point of view???

Correct, I don't know which is why it was pretty clear it was my opinion of what I believed most likely. Those who are adamant he's been dealt with atrociously are evidently believing the counter view a little more assertively without knowledge of precisely what was said.

None of us will ever know for sure. Probably best therefore to assume it was a misunderstanding. Both parties therefore at fault.

As for simply telling him flat out last year that the game was over...

(1) do we believe he'd have accepted that any more graciously?

(2) did Graves or whomever know for sure who would end up in charge of that decision? What if he'd have told KP he was done only for Piers Morgan or Darren Gough or Alec Stewart etc to get the role Strauss now has? (This is why I suspect Graves wasn't quite so black and white as KP is making out and more likely pitched it as keeping the door open.... Until a new boss came in).

[ManFromDelmonte]

johnxjsc1985 said:

Different Sport but Christiano Ronaldo lives in his own universe he plays for team CR7 but as a consequence Real madrid profit from it.
it gone past KP now and its more about the management of the ECB and how they have managed to shoot themselves in the foot before a ball of summer cricket has been bowled.
Alex Stewart made a very good point in so much as most of the ECB bods have been changed so who is it that doesn't trust him ....answers on a postcard please to Andrew Strauss.
All that needed to be said last year was Sorry Kev but thats your lot I am afraid thanks for all your efforts.

Christiano Ronaldo is one of the best footballers in the world at the current moment and is likely one of the best ever. KP got to a highest test ranking of 3rd in the world but that was in 2006. He's been very ordinary in the last few years so can't be compared in any way to CR. Especially so as CR, to the best of my knowledge, has not behaved anything like as bad as KP.

And a couple of names for your postcard...Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

Edited by ManFromDelmonte on Wednesday 13th May 13:24

[Murph7355]

Cheib said:

This is ALL Graves fault. If he hadn't said "get yourself a county and score runs" the last 48 hours would never have happened. What a fking idiot.

And you know that is the sum total of the conversation between Graves and KP?

Two parties have a discussion and come out of it thinking different outcomes. Happens all the time. We'll likely never know who was at fault.

Here's another angle... Perhaps if KP hadn't sent texts to England opponents, written a book slagging off the people he would need to play with and generally been an attention seeking knob he'd have been playing for the last few years and the last 48hrs wouldn't have happened either

[Gargamel]

Murph7355 said:

And you know that is the sum total of the conversation between Graves and KP?

Two parties have a discussion and come out of it thinking different outcomes. Happens all the time. We'll likely never know who was at fault.

Here's another angle... Perhaps if KP hadn't sent texts to England opponents, written a book slagging off the people he would need to play with and generally been an attention seeking knob he'd have been playing for the last few years and the last 48hrs wouldn't have happened either

Murph

As far as I know Grave and KP never spoke directly, it was Graves's incoming interview that set up this mess

Graves, who replaces Giles Clarke as ECB chairman in May, told BBC Five Live’s Sportsweek on Sunday that the first thing the 34-year-old Pietersen must do “is play county cricket for somebody” in a bid to force the hands of the selectors. He then told the Telegraph: “If he does that and then comes out and scores a lot of runs they can’t ignore him I would have thought. But that is up to him. You can’t pick someone when he is not playing.”

[johnxjsc1985]

ManFromDelmonte said:

Christiano Ronaldo is one of the best footballers in the world at the current moment and is likely one of the best ever. KP got to a highest test ranking of 3rd in the world but that was in 2006. He's been very ordinary in the last few years so can't be compared in any way to CR. Especially so as CR, to the best of my knowledge, has not behaved anything like as bad as KP.

And a couple of names for your postcard...Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

Edited by ManFromDelmonte on Wednesday 13th May 13:24

Ronaldo is not a team player he benefits the team but he is all about Ronaldo.The England team have been crap for sometime so its hard to single out KP.
I have no idea what level of hood he has achieved and it really doesn't bother me.
If he played against the Aussies and scored a load of runs I bet he would be hailed as a national hero.
Having given up his IPL contract on the chance of obtaining his place for England I wonder how he stands with asking the ECB to cover his loss of earnings?.
What a mess they have got themselves into.

[ChasW]

Although we are drifting off the cricket topic I think Ronaldo is a team player but he has reached a position of excessive dominance and influence that can cause the team to under-perform. I think there's a tipping point, particularly in an interactive sport like football, where you can build around your most effective asset. The point comes when other players are either used sub-optimally or become subdued and the overall team performance deteriorates trying to accommodate the star. At his best when at Spurs Gareth Bale was the equivalent of Ronaldo but without the negative consequences. This is where the managers start earning their money.

[BlackLabel]

GloverMart said:

Not a fan of those Hitler parody videos but this one is a cracker.

KP has tweeted that he's seen it.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNexLoG19rg

This one captures the situation nicely too...

https://twitter.com/br_uk/status/59808602927126937...

This one too sums up the situation:

[Murph7355]

Gargamel said:

Murph

As far as I know Grave and KP never spoke directly, it was Graves's incoming interview that set up this mess

Graves, who replaces Giles Clarke as ECB chairman in May, told BBC Five Live’s Sportsweek on Sunday that the first thing the 34-year-old Pietersen must do “is play county cricket for somebody” in a bid to force the hands of the selectors. He then told the Telegraph: “If he does that and then comes out and scores a lot of runs they can’t ignore him I would have thought. But that is up to him. You can’t pick someone when he is not playing.”

I heard rumour of a phone call (IIRC it was mentioned on TalkSport this morning).

But if the above is all there was, and he took that as a promise then he's more stupid than I thought.

If you were applying for a job and received that comms, would you jack in your current job on the strength of it? I can't believe any right minded individual would.

And if that's all Graves said, then he has nothing to be sorry about. It's promising nothing and stating the obvious.

johnxjsc1985 said:

..
Having given up his IPL contract on the chance of obtaining his place for England I wonder how he stands with asking the ECB to cover his loss of earnings?.

Nowhere. Unless he can cast iron prove he was promised something. And I'll do an Ashdown on that front

My guess is he won't even try. He'll just keep boo hooing to anyone who'll listen for the next 20yrs.

[johnxjsc1985]

Murph7355 said:

Nowhere. Unless he can cast iron prove he was promised something. And I'll do an Ashdown on that front

My guess is he won't even try. He'll just keep boo hooing to anyone who'll listen for the next 20yrs.

plenty of respected people in the game think he was told to join a club and score lots of runs.
Never mind waiting for the Aussies to murder us New Zealand will be looking forward to the mess that is England at present.

[Get Karter]

zygalski said:

But Pietersen's Test average has been in steady decline since 2011.
He's just not all that any more. Certainly not worth the hassle, regardless of how well he can smash 3rd rate bowling all around the park in one particular county game.

Yes, they should stick with Cook whose test average is still up there compared to 2011, and who regularly scores triple centuries against 3rd rate county teams.
He's also a much nicer fella and doesn't offend anyone (outside of Yorkshire).

[Amirhussain]

T20 blast starting tomorrow. Wahab Riaz just signed for Surrey, whilst Leicester have snapped up Umar Akmal. Some good overseas players this year, the likes of McCullum, Gayle, Darren Sammy, Dilshan and Finch.