Pietersen: will he become an all time great ?

[NUFAN]

FFS, how many threads these days about players becoming an all time great.

KP won't be an all time great test batsmen, but he has a chance of being an all time great ODI player.

 

[Perm]

they'll come all over him.

 

[Perm]

And of you are following SL cricket closely, you'll find that Lankan players normally don't sledge (except Mahela, Vandort and Sanga). Pietersen started sledging SL bowlers during the last tour in ENG, and now they collectively hunt him down. He started doing the same here and Lankan bowlers didn't look back. His approach very well suits him with aggressive sides like Aussies or Saffies, but his approach will fire up sides like SL who are very laid back with sledging excepts odd comment here and there, and we saw clearly the results during ODI and Test series. He should learn to sledge who are sledging at him. If he continues sledging laid back guys and fire them up, they'll come all over him.

The only times I get to see Sri Lanka is when they are away from home, and presumably not as comfortably out in the middle. That being said, I've heard Sangakkara and Mahela Jaywardene give batsmen a fair bit of stick, while Prasanna Jayawardene usually has a fair bit too say. That being said, I don't think they're particularly more 'laid back' than any of the other nations, Australia aside, they just don't seem to have a volatile character in their midst like Harbhajan for India, or Pietersen for England.

Anyway, Pietersen did have a poor series in Sri Lanka, no doubting that. I don't think you can attribute it to his aggressive attitude with sledging though.

 

[Top_Cat]

I think if KP doesn't at least end up as one of England's best batsmen ever, it'll be disappointing. Prima facie, has all the tools; shots all-round the wicket, good temperament in a crisis, no real technical weakness other than against off-spin perhaps, fears no bowler.

I love watching the guy bat because he's exciting with his lofted shots but when he switches to a more orthodox Test mode, exhibits all the good things about a Test batsman; patience and deals with the loose balls when they come. When he lofts a ball over cover for 6, it's a joy to watch but when he plays through the line through mid-on, it's beautiful too. I remember a few times last season against the Aussies where he came down the track to Warnie and calmly placed him through long-on for four. Then he'd lay back and late cut to the fence, all highly orthodox shots. Couple that with the same bloke who can reverse-sweep a bowler like Murali for 6 and you have one special player. 10 tons in his first 30-odd Tests is a pretty decent achievement too.

 

[slowfinger]

Kevin Peiterson won't be an all time great

1.too wrecklas
2.Not consistent enough
3.Can't get good scores alot to be in mind
4.He isn't in form

there you go

 

[whitedazzler]

who cares whos an all time great?

players come, players go, its enuf of an achievement to play for your country, n ya only as good as ya last performance

john bracewell - driving players out of the side since 2002

 

[sideshowtim]

I think his style of play is conducive to long spells with a lot of bad luck, form or both at the same time. Far easier to lose your wicket when you attack as frequently as he does. I don't think he'll maintain the consistency of a Ponting, Dravid or Kallis to be ranked as an "all-time great" in Test cricket.

 

[johnbull]

For me, he'll go down as a top England batsmen, although he does seem to have a problem on the subcontinent.

Agree with others that there's to much who'll be a great.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Unless Pietersen tightens up his technique and shuts his big mouth up without winding up bowlers (Malinga was winded up by Pietersen and got that jaffa) he'll be down the slippery slope to being ordinary.

LOL at the concept of Kevin Pietersen's batting ever being 'ordinary', TBH. No matter how badly his career slides, 'ordinary' will never be the word. That implies his batting is generic and unremarkable, and I refuse to acknowledge that as the tiniest of possibilities. There's no batsman in the world I'd rather watch when on form.

Oh, and for the record, yes, I'm quite confident in the man's ability to become an all-time great. Show me anyone who watched his Ashes-winning innings live and believes otherwise and I'll show you a liar.

 

[Richard]

Haha, however many people at the ground may have believed otherwise, that was a pretty poor innings TBH.

 

[NUFAN]

KP won't be an all time great test batsmen, but he has a chance of being an all time great ODI player.

 

[MW1304]

I think his style of play is conducive to long spells with a lot of bad luck, form or both at the same time. Far easier to lose your wicket when you attack as frequently as he does. I don't think he'll maintain the consistency of a Ponting, Dravid or Kallis to be ranked as an "all-time great" in Test cricket.

Good from this banned guy.

 

[Jono]

post that everytime Benchy is around. The duo of Siddle and Bailey in the same frame will send him into meltdown.

 

[NUFAN]

You know I was actually prepared to remove my Boon avatar for that GIF, but it was too large.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

All time great waste of natural talent.

 

[GIMH]

He'd need a Tendulkaresque resurgence to go down as an ATG. Even then it'd be highly debatable though there's already a case for him to be an English ATG I guess

 

[fredfertang]

He'll always be the cricketing equivalent of Paul Gascoigne

 

[Furball]

He's the greatest batsman of his generation. I don't care what anybody else says.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Needs to do something similar to what Lara did after 2001. He had been wildly inconsistent and his average had dropped to around 47. But then he came back and dominated attacks consistently fir around 5 years to cement his legacy.

I still think he's great and has it in him to go down as a great player but he has to turn it around quickly

 

[Red]

He's a contender for a spot in his country's ATG team so I guess he's an ATG.