**Official** South Africa in England 2012

[Spikey]

'It's absolutely not about money' - Pietersen | Cricket videos, MP3, podcasts, cricket audio at ESPN Cricinfo

holy **** his face from 2:54 to 2:59

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Looks like the end as Flower and KP are both stubborn and neither will give an inch. Been a wonderful career and a blast to watch.

 

[uvelocity]

Yep. The UDRS is not there to reach some Nirvana where every single decision is totally and irrefutably correct, even assuming that you can even talk about what such a state would mean (which IMO you can't)

one thing that sucks is that with 48 looks they can turn what was a fair enough 'oh I think he hit it' on field split second decision into a howler when you have time to look at it ala smith 2nd innings dismissal.

watched the pietersen and strauss interviews. fmd journalists. would punch them in the head. yeah you buddy.

 

[Woodster]

Yes wanted to give KP a bit of a break after that fantastic innings and focus on his cricket, but he's obviously seen it as a good time to remind people (fans, ECB, etc) how important he is to the side. I do think a lot of things are magnified when they come from KP or taken out of context, but if he wanted to avoid any speculation he could have given the type of questions he was faced with in the interview a side-swerve by just not offering any comments on the matter.

 

[CWB304]

What are these dressing room problems Pietersen alludes to? Does he not have any allies in the England camp who can speak out on his behalf? Love him or hate him, he has given England a lot these past seven years, and it would be a shame for his career to end in a confusing fog of accusations and recriminations.

I have not seen anything to suggest that the current version of KP doesn't pull his weight; sometimes it is guys like him - who are perceived as a bit brash and in your face - who lose out in the PR wars, precisely because they are so up front and guileless. Meanwhile, wilier operators who don't see eye to eye with him can brief away to friendly journalists about how he's disliked, considered selfish by his teammates etc., when the opposite might in fact be the case.

I accept that he had a well-earned reputation for being selfish earlier in his career, but it is also possible that he has changed: just look at Gayle since he returned to the WI set-up.

I rate Trott and Cook very highly but for me KP on an good day remains the one England batsman who's capable of making a difference at the very highest level in a series such as this against a side with a seriously good attack.

But if it is true that he is too selfish to conform to the team ethos - and it's not just people who want him out briefing against him and relying on old prejudices and reputations to help their message to gain traction - then perhaps it's time for a parting of ways. In which case a career as a modern-day mercenary of cricketing hit-and-giggle awaits. I hope for his sake that that is not what Pietersen wants, or has been angling for.

 

[Woodster]

I don't know what this changing room issues are, guess we'll never really know as I don't think anyone will come out with their version of events, until someone writes another autobiography. Fully agree if he isn't buying into the team ethos his time has to be up, and also agree that he is our one top class batsman capable of producing an innings like he has in the latest Test against an excellent attack.

 

[Arachnodouche]

Even if there are people in the dressing room leaking information to the media, which is what KP is complaining about, if the leaks are the truth, i.e. that KP wants to be able to skip the NZ test series and other series to play IPL or to take time off etc, how on Earth is this the ECB's fault? Should they be held ransom by KP?

Tendulkar regularly does that to BCCI. Pietersen, if anything, is more valuable to the England setup as of today. You can't be smug in your assured livelihood through a central contract, as is the case with Eng cricket, and then pick and choose your games; unless there's a built in clause allowing wriggle room, you bloody well be present for your employer's commitments.

 

[Spark]

Looks like the end as Flower and KP are both stubborn and neither will give an inch. Been a wonderful career and a blast to watch.

If KP genuinely wants to play for England, then I'd look seriously poorly on Flower/Strauss if they didn't sort it out. Professionalism is good and all, but KP is one of the most entertaining and watchable cricketers in the game on his day, and people wanting to watch him bat (which they absolutely do) does genuinely matter, far more than just mere egos. It can't be that hard, surely.

 

[Woodster]

If KP genuinely wants to play for England, then I'd look seriously poorly on Flower/Strauss if they didn't sort it out. Professionalism is good and all, but KP is one of the most entertaining and watchable cricketers in the game on his day, and people wanting to watch him bat (which they absolutely do) does genuinely matter, far more than just mere egos. It can't be that hard, surely.

I think it all depends on the things we are not privvy to. Don't think it's enough to just want to play for England, despite his obvious talent and entertainment factor, his attitude cannot be seen to have a detrimental effect on the team as a whole. I'm not suggesting all the players have to be the best of friends, but on a professional footing everyone has to be pulling in the same direction.

 

[Jacknife]

If KP genuinely wants to play for England, then I'd look seriously poorly on Flower/Strauss if they didn't sort it out. Professionalism is good and all, but KP is one of the most entertaining and watchable cricketers in the game on his day, and people wanting to watch him bat (which they absolutely do) does genuinely matter, far more than just mere egos. It can't be that hard, surely.

That's my line of thinking, obviously you can't let the bloke do whatever he wants but surely as adults there should be a compromise in all this. Being the Coach of England or any side for that matter is as much about man management and getting the most out of players than it is to train and plan. Like Woodster says though who knows what goes on behind close doors but on the pitch their doesn't seem to be any conflicts or any signs of people not getting along and all we ever here about KP is that he trains harder than anyone else and does what he's told when he's playing for England.

Like I've said before for the good of the game, I hope they can move on from this and it doesn't all end badly.

 

[uvelocity]

poms infighting. glorious.

 

[Spark]

That's my line of thinking, obviously you can't let the bloke do whatever he wants but surely as adults there should be a compromise in all this. Being the Coach of England or any side for that matter team is as much about man management and getting the most out of players than it is to train and plan. Like Woodster says though who knows what goes on behind close doors but on the pitch their doesn't seem to be any conflicts or any signs of people not getting along and all we ever here about KP is that he trains harder than anyone else and does what he's told when he's playing for England.

Like I've said before for the good of the game I hope they can move on from this and doesn't all end badly.

If he's right and the ECB has been briefing against him + leaking closed door meetings, then that's fairly ****ing dire. Whether we should take his word for it is another matter, mind.

 

[Spikey]

poms infighting. glorious.

Kevin Pietersen isn't English...?

 

[uvelocity]

look he is when it comes to this alright

 

[Jacknife]

If he's right and the ECB has been briefing against him + leaking closed door meetings, then that's fairly ****ing dire. Whether we should take his word for it is another matter, mind.

Very under hand if it is true, at the time on cricinfo I remember it being referred to as a source in the ECB.

The one thing KP needs to change is the guys who are advising him, they're not doing him any favors at all.

 

[stumpski]

He has a little of the mercenary inside him. I'm sure he'll wear SA colours again if they cared to have him back and present him with a better deal.

He never wore them before - SA didn't want him - or Western Province didn't, which amounted to the same thing.

Ten days to go until the next Test so there is time to sort this mess out if there's common sense on both sides. In general though, I'd say we're better off without someone who puts IPL $$$ before playing Test cricket for England. How much more money does he need?

 

[Spark]

I mean, we did this **** with Chris Gayle and does anyone honestly think WI cricket was better without him? This shouldn't about be egos, pride or anything like that. It should be for the good of the game.

 

[fredfertang]

Ten days to go until the next Test so there is time to sort this mess out if there's common sense on both sides. In general though, I'd say we're better off without someone who puts IPL $$$ before playing Test cricket for England. How much more money does he need?

I agree with this, although I suspect that at this stage Pietersen's main aim is to see how far he can push the ECB, rather than swell his bank account - I'd be surprised if he really was prepared to risk missing back to back Ashes series

 

[Jacknife]

I mean, we did this **** with Chris Gayle and does anyone honestly think WI cricket was better without him? This shouldn't about be egos, pride or anything like that. It should be for the good of the game.

Yep, nobody comes out of situations like these looking very good.

If it genuinely was about money, he could earn far more just quitting and going around all the Twenty20 leagues, obviously far more to it than that.

 

[Garson007]

Pietersen to turn South African in the eyes of the English media when he retires early.