It's Tough Being Me - The Kevin Pietersen Story

[Pothas]

For what it is worth he is selling a lot of books.

 

[Furball]

On the one hand yeah but on the other is it really more than Cook, Anderson, Broad, Swann?

Maybe it is but, and this is more a continuation of what cab was saying than reference to your post, the whole 'best player' thing disrespects the that guys who have done so much for the team

I defo wouldn't rather he never played for us though. What a player.

Of your list I'd reckon only Anderson comes close.

 

[GIMH]

Of your list I'd reckon only Anderson comes close.

Well Swann won more games for us than Anderson when both were in the side IMO.

 

[Pothas]

and of course if you go back to 2005 Fred was way more important. Cook's runs also were the foundation for 2010 and the India win. Think it is is fair to say that KP was not the single key player in any of those series wins but he played a memorable role in all of them, something nobody else has done.

 

[Adders]

Just look back at the best times England have had during his test career (there have been quite a lot, which we should not forget) and he has played a memorable role in all them. I mean anyone that watched his innings in Mumbai will be thankful that KP played for England.

I don't disagree with that at all. But what I will say is if you look at the great innings he's had, he was seldom the best England player during those series.

I'm in a hurry so this is straight off the top of my head......

2005 Ashes. His Oval knock was one of the best. Englands POS Flintoff.
2010/11 Ashes. KP had Adelaide......the series was Cooks.
India 2012. Same as above.

This all goes back to what Fliberty was saying earlier in the thread......KP was a bit of a feast or famine player. For all his greatness he didn't often dominate whole series, yes he dominated test matches and some of those like Mumbai changed the series for us.

 

[Cabinet96]

Another thing that grinds me gears is when England 'fans' say he was the only player they've enjoyed watching in the last decade or whatever. If you can't enjoy watching the likes of Swann, Anderson, Broad, Bell etc. have success then bore off and watch another sport.

 

[Cabinet96]

Said this before but post captaincy Pietersen was a different player. Before it he scored huge runs and centuries all the time in both colours. Afterwards the one day runs dried up and he seldom dominated a series bar India 2011. That's the period he was the 'not a great, but a player of great innings' that people often use to describe him.

 

[Jono]

Someone tweeted that this affair has raised the standing of John Buchanan in their eyes. I think its a good point. Knew how to handle personalities a lot better than Flower. Sure he obviously didn't get along with Warne, but he ensured things never got out of control.

 

[SteveNZ]

Someone tweeted that this affair has raised the standing of John Buchanan in their eyes. I think its a good point. Knew how to handle personalities a lot better than Flower. Sure he obviously didn't get along with Warne, but he ensured things never got out of control.

Good point, and he also had a very strong leader in Steve Waugh. There wasn't any **** going to wash under those two. England haven't had that sort of leader in quite some time.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Another thing that grinds me gears is when England 'fans' say he was the only player they've enjoyed watching in the last decade or whatever. If you can't enjoy watching the likes of Swann, Anderson, Broad, Bell etc. have success then bore off and watch another sport.

Best bat to watch as you never knew what was coming next though Bell clearly the easiest on the eye. He was a big cog in the best era of England cricket for about 50 years. Just think his time was up anyway and it was handled horrendously by all parties.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I can't usually be bothered listening to KP because he's such a dick, but I listened in to TalkSport today which confirmed his dickhood.

 

[Spark]

I don't disagree with that at all. But what I will say is if you look at the great innings he's had, he was seldom the best England player during those series.

I'm in a hurry so this is straight off the top of my head......

2005 Ashes. His Oval knock was one of the best. Englands POS Flintoff.
2010/11 Ashes. KP had Adelaide......the series was Cooks.
India 2012. Same as above.

This all goes back to what Fliberty was saying earlier in the thread......KP was a bit of a feast or famine player. For all his greatness he didn't often dominate whole series, yes he dominated test matches and some of those like Mumbai changed the series for us.

2006-8 he was pretty much the best batsman in the world IIRC.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

2006-8 he was pretty much the best batsman in the world IIRC.

That is a long time ago. The way people are saying he has been dumped too soon you would think he was still by far the best player in the side when he clearly isn't.

 

[Prince EWS]

Another thing that grinds me gears is when England 'fans' say he was the only player they've enjoyed watching in the last decade or whatever. If you can't enjoy watching the likes of Swann, Anderson, Broad, Bell etc. have success then bore off and watch another sport.

Cabinet with the smackdown on Riddy.

 

[watson]

Has everyone synchronised their periods yet? Just wondering.

 

[GIMH]

and of course if you go back to 2005 Fred was way more important. Cook's runs also were the foundation for 2010 and the India win. Think it is is fair to say that KP was not the single key player in any of those series wins but he played a memorable role in all of them, something nobody else has done.

Yeah this is fair enough

 

[vic_orthdox]

Yeah, but seen in the context of the series, it was horrible, whether it's the first time he's done it or whatever. Came at a point where England obviously needed to bat a long time to save the test. Completely braindead shot and because he's not someone you'd associate with that kind of a shot, and because of all the fallout regarding KP, every bad shot KP played just got magnified in hindsight. Cook, Prior,KP they all played some shockers.

I'm sure that Cook had plenty of time to work out his options in that situation... 150km/h at his schnoz.

 

[social]

Someone tweeted that this affair has raised the standing of John Buchanan in their eyes. I think its a good point. Knew how to handle personalities a lot better than Flower. Sure he obviously didn't get along with Warne, but he ensured things never got out of control.

Sorry but no

Oz were lucky enough to have had 15 of the greatest players in history available to them at one time

Buchanan was a lucky by-stander and his record before and since proves it

There were a lot of ****s in that team but they all wanted to win and I could have "coached" them to it

 

[OverratedSanity]

I'm sure that Cook had plenty of time to work out his options in that situation... 150km/h at his schnoz.

He basically wasn't good enough to play it, then. Still a dumb shot when you're facing 5 sessions of batting to save the test

2006-8 he was pretty much the best batsman in the world IIRC.

Nah. Sanga.

 

[harsh.ag]

Sorry but no

Oz were lucky enough to have had 15 of the greatest players in history available to them at one time

Buchanan was a lucky by-stander and his record before and since proves it

There were a lot of ****s in that team but they all wanted to win and I could have "coached" them to it

No doubt you could have "coached" them to, say, 1-2 years of triumph.

But the real question is would you have been able to keep them united and prospering through the 8-9 years that they were champions for?