Is Pietersen a team player?

[shaka]

Pieterson says that he has been wanting to leave since last winter, access to the article about his departure is at :
http://www.vivacricket.co.za/cgi-bin/vc.pl?uid=W9GwNvHAzUk1098071128&fn=news&newsid=2138

 

[wpdavid]

Pieterson says that he has been wanting to leave since last winter, access to the article about his departure is at :
http://www.vivacricket.co.za/cgi-bin/vc.pl?uid=W9GwNvHAzUk1098071128&fn=news&newsid=2138

It doesn't quite add up though - it's not as if he'd be playing in Div 2 next summer if he stayed with Notts. I wonder who the four sides are, assuming they're all in Div 1. It's hard to see that Warwicks need another batsman, ditto Middlesex now they've recruited Ed Smith. Maybe Kent want to replace Ed Smith, or maybe it's Surrey. Sussex could probably use him, but I doubt whether they're more of a stepping stone to international cricket than Notts.
Of course, I could be wrong about Div 1 and maybe he's going to Lancashire to replace Hooper. Or even Yorkshire if he wants a real challenge.

 

[shaka]

Of course, I could be wrong about Div 1 and maybe he's going to Lancashire to replace Hooper. Or even Yorkshire if he wants a real challenge.

So would that mean that Carl Hooper is finally retiring, or is he switching to another team too?

 

[Neil Pickup]

It doesn't quite add up though - it's not as if he'd be playing in Div 2 next summer if he stayed with Notts. I wonder who the four sides are, assuming they're all in Div 1. It's hard to see that Warwicks need another batsman, ditto Middlesex now they've recruited Ed Smith. Maybe Kent want to replace Ed Smith, or maybe it's Surrey. Sussex could probably use him, but I doubt whether they're more of a stepping stone to international cricket than Notts.
Of course, I could be wrong about Div 1 and maybe he's going to Lancashire to replace Hooper. Or even Yorkshire if he wants a real challenge.

To me, it's had Kent written all over it for weeks. I look forward to being totally wrong

 

[Craig]

That's why he earns more than any other coach in world cricket.

And if England can't win the Ashes or one of the two big ODI tournaments, then Fletcher and his players are worth squat.

 

[BoyBrumby]

And if England can't win the Ashes or one of the two big ODI tournaments, then Fletcher and his players are worth squat.

Horsesh*t.

Is your opinion of The West Indies & New Zealand so low that whitewashing them counts for nothing?

 

[wpdavid]

I see Pietersen has now had a very public whinge about not being picked to tour SA. He certainly knows how to make friends and influence people.

 

[Tom Halsey]

I was thinking more Illingworth/Devon Malcolm type era...

True, it was bad then, but it is irrelevant now, new coach, new players (mostly).

 

[Craig]

Horsesh*t.

Is your opinion of The West Indies & New Zealand so low that whitewashing them counts for nothing?

Well I'm a Black Caps supporter.

We had plenty of injuries during that series which obviously didn't help and the West Indies haven't been really all that good, for well, ages (except a surprise comeback in the CT final).

And if England can't compete against Australia or suddenly when they come up against the big boys and run away what does that you about England?

Answer that for me.

 

[marc71178]

If they beat every other side, then what does it say about the other 8?

The number of people seeking to rubbish England's recent record is quite a shame, and no doubt it will continue if they beat SA this winter.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Well I'm a Black Caps supporter.

We had plenty of injuries during that series which obviously didn't help and the West Indies haven't been really all that good, for well, ages (except a surprise comeback in the CT final).

And if England can't compete against Australia or suddenly when they come up against the big boys and run away what does that you about England?

Answer that for me.

Well firstly I assumed you were an Aussie, judging by your location & the tone of your post, so I apologise for jumping to conclusions.

Moreover, I agree that you had pretty rotten luck with injuries to your bowlers in the English summer. Bond is a huge miss & pretty much all your seamers seemed to break down at one time or another. But (and this is my crucial point) NZ are a very competitive team who, before the series, were rightly assumed to be at least on a par with England. All the games were close, but England were victorious in all of them. That must suggest a bit of character in the team? Yes or no?

Of course Australia are a better team than us. No one is suggesting otherwise. But we did compete with them in our last meeting (one day it may've been, but they'd had the wood over us in that version of the game for bl**dy ages). For what it's worth I don't think we're quite up to wresting the urn back, but to suggest that's the only measure of the worth of Fletcher's team is, as I pointed out in my previous post, a steaming pile.

 

[wpdavid]

Well firstly I assumed you were an Aussie, judging by your location & the tone of your post, so I apologise for jumping to conclusions.

Moreover, I agree that you had pretty rotten luck with injuries to your bowlers in the English summer. Bond is a huge miss & pretty much all your seamers seemed to break down at one time or another. But (and this is my crucial point) NZ are a very competitive team who, before the series, were rightly assumed to be at least on a par with England. All the games were close, but England were victorious in all of them. That must suggest a bit of character in the team? Yes or no?

IIRC Bond's only ever managed to play about 10 tests, so his absence this summer was hardly something the Black caps aren't used to. And, without him, they have still lost very few tests in recent years and they certainly don't make a habit of getting whitewashed. Apart from him, obviously they were extremely unlucky in the 3rd test with injuries, but I don't remember too many others in the first 2, when the series was still alive.

As for WI, although it's fair enough to say that any reasonable side willl thrash them outside of the Caribbean, that's not true when the WI are at home. An obvious example of that would be their win over India, which is more than Aus or England managed last time around. IIRC England's 3-0 win was the best performance by any side out there for decades, and it's strange that some people just write it off.

 

[Sussexshark]

The big money is on Hants right now, and I do mean big in that they are offering KP £100k.

As some have said, what was going on at Notts was kept very much under wraps. I too heard about the Gallian episode. Spoke volumes for someone who as captain should have been able to handle a situation.

Still, I would welcome KP; I watched him against Sussex last year and was mightily impressed. Given the chance he'll play the Australians at their own game next year. Should be interesting.

 

[wpdavid]

The big money is on Hants right now, and I do mean big in that they are offering KP £100k.

As some have said, what was going on at Notts was kept very much under wraps. I too heard about the Gallian episode. Spoke volumes for someone who as captain should have been able to handle a situation.

Still, I would welcome KP; I watched him against Sussex last year and was mightily impressed. Given the chance he'll play the Australians at their own game next year. Should be interesting.

And Hants it is. I wonder if he'll stay there is they go straight back down.
Chances are he'll play for England at some point next year, even though he's a couple of places down the pecking order - for some reason we have more injuries against Aus than against any other side, so I would imagine he'll get a chance.

 

[twctopcat]

When Thorpe and Butcher finally go (perhaps at the end of next year) i would have Bell and Pietersen to replace them, can't think of anyone better than those 2 at the moment.

 

[Neil Pickup]

When Thorpe and Butcher finally go (perhaps at the end of next year) i would have Bell and Pietersen to replace them, can't think of anyone better than those 2 at the moment.

Butcher's only 32!

I'm not sure he's intending on calling it a day quite yet..

 

[twctopcat]

Perhaps i jumped the gun on butcher and i hope he proves me wrong but Bell and Pietersen look like the real deal.

 

[marc71178]

When Thorpe and Butcher finally go (perhaps at the end of next year) i would have Bell and Pietersen to replace them, can't think of anyone better than those 2 at the moment.

Erm, at the moment there's Rob Key...

 

[twctopcat]

Erm, at the moment there's Rob Key...

When the time comes i would put both Bell and Pietersen above Key in batting and also due to the bowling and fielding contributions they can offer.

 

[marc71178]

Bell I would for sure, but until he has a go, we never can tell about Pietersen...