It's Tough Being Me - The Kevin Pietersen Story

[grecian]

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.

Have studiously ignored it, but because I like Hawksbee and Jacobs show, I saw a quote from KP saying he'd "do anything to get back in the England team". Umm yeah mate, you know could I make a suggestion for this "anything". Don't write one of the more damaging and viperous auto-biographies in the history of English cricket slagging off players, management, many of whom are still there.

Honestly does anyone really buy this bull****?

 

[wpdavid]

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?

I have to say I'm with Social on this one. Partially because the sheer number of great players available to Aus meant that most of them knew they were droppable if they didn't perform; something which did happen to many of them at some point, of course. Whereas KP knew after the 2005 ashes that he was pretty much undroppable, which I think has been a big factor in what we've seen over the last 4 or 5 years. Even the ATGs playing for Aus knew they weren't the only ones in that category in that particular side, so they weren't going to get above themselves, as it simply wouldn't be tolerated by other guys of a similar stature. Plus I think the whole culture of Aus cricket meant they were going to be more professional for a longer period of time than any occasional England player in that position. Beyond that, it's probably an insult to those guys to suggest that they'd have showed KPlike tendencies if it wasn't for the coach. They were simply made of better stuff.

One of the most ludicrous comments from KP is trying to dismantle Flower's achievements by comparing him to Buchanan with that Aus side. We did have a good side 3-4 years ago, but it's simply silly to pretend they were on a par with the Aus side that we're discussing. Given that he's evidently talking complete bollocks on that front, I find it hard to take him seriously on matters which we don't have first hand knowledge of.

 

[grecian]

I have to say I'm with Social on this one. Partially because the sheer number of great players available to Aus meant that most of them knew they were droppable if they didn't perform; something which did happen to many of them at some point, of course. Whereas KP knew after the 2005 ashes that he was pretty much undroppable, which I think has been a big factor in what we've seen over the last 4 or 5 years. Even the ATGs playing for Aus knew they weren't the only ones in that category in that particular side, so they weren't going to get above themselves, as it simply wouldn't be tolerated by other guys of a similar stature. Plus I think the whole culture of Aus cricket meant they were going to be more professional for a longer period of time than any occasional England player in that position. Beyond that, it's probably an insult to those guys to suggest that they'd have showed KPlike tendencies if it wasn't for the coach. They were simply made of better stuff.

One of the most ludicrous comments from KP is trying to dismantle Flower's achievements by comparing him to Buchanan with that Aus side. We did have a good side 3-4 years ago, but it's simply silly to pretend they were on a par with the Aus side that we're discussing. Given that he's evidently talking complete bollocks on that front, I find it hard to take him seriously on matters which we don't have first hand knowledge of.

Yes, as much as I love many England players of the time, we never had a Warne, McGrath, Ponting, Gilchrist or even an Hayden.

Oh, and he's clearly talking bollocks on so many issues, yet it seems to be appealing to many.

The cricinfo headline sums it up for me "I made mistakes I was too honest", it sums it all up. Hey Kev you may not realise this, but Honesty can be seen as a good thing, so you are actually saying you've done nothing wrong in a faux-apology way, and others were wrong to react badly to your great qualities. I'm sure that wasn't your intention-like, you enormous ego-monster ****-muppet.

 

[BeeGee]

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

Not even close. Ponting was the best batsman in the world over that time period. Sangakkara, Yousuf and Kallis were all better than KP too.

 

[sledger]

The point about KP not being the most important player in 2005, but playing a key role is an interesting one. His innings on the final day of the entire sereies was pretty crucial. Had he not been dropped by Warne when he was, and was out cheaply, it would have been very interesting to say the least to see how that game panned out. That victory was in many way a catalyst for a lot of the good stuff that followed, in my mind anyway. Had the result been different who knows what may have followed. It's all hypothetical of course, but interesting to think about in the context of considering how influential and/or important KP was to English cricket throughout the time he played for the national side.

 

[Spark]

Not even close. Ponting was the best batsman in the world over that time period. Sangakkara, Yousuf and Kallis were all better than KP too.

Mm Ponting peaked in 06-7 really, but yeah, true. He was right up there for a few years, though.

The cricinfo headline sums it up for me "I made mistakes I was too honest", it sums it all up. Hey Kev you may not realise this, but Honesty can be seen as a good thing, so you are actually saying you've done nothing wrong in a faux-apology way, and others were wrong to react badly to your great qualities. I'm sure that wasn't your intention-like, you enormous ego-monster ****-muppet.

I realise that you think KP is the devilspawn but if you're not gonna actually read what he has to say then saying stuff like "he says he's done nothing wrong" is pretty dumb when he clearly has said he's done things wrong.

 

[grecian]

The point about KP not being the most important player in 2005, but playing a key role is an interesting one. His innings on the final day of the entire sereies was pretty crucial. Had he not been dropped by Warne when he was, and was out cheaply, it would have been very interesting to say the least to see how that game panned out. That victory was in many way a catalyst for a lot of the good stuff that followed, in my mind anyway. Had the result been different who knows what may have followed. It's all hypothetical of course, but interesting to think about in the context of considering how influential and/or important KP was to English cricket throughout the time he played for the national side.

It is an interesting point, but it was just one thing, if Giles hadn't stayed with him we could have lost. Oh and if KP hadn't dropped some pretty easy catches early in the series in that hideous drawn-match, then we may not have needed to have that innings. All conjecture,and I wouldn't change a thing about that great series, but others were more instrumental in the win IMHO.

 

[sledger]

It is an interesting point, but it was just one thing, if Giles hadn't stayed with him we could have lost. Oh and if KP hadn't dropped some pretty easy catches early in the series in that hideous drawn-match, then we may not have needed to have that innings. All conjecture,and I wouldn't change a thing about that great series, but others were more instrumental in the win IMHO.

Well, quite. But at the end of the series, when it truly was a make or break time, he absolutely got the job done and came through in the clutch. I don't mean to downplay the contributions of others, and happily accept that there were other factors at play which helped lead to the eventual outcome. But I don't think it's a stretch to say that his contribution at that time, in those circumstances, was absolutely critical to the eventual result.

 

[grecian]

Well, quite. But at the end of the series, when it truly was a make or break time, he absolutely got the job done and came through in the clutch. I don't mean to downplay the contributions of others, and happily accept that there were other factors at play which helped lead to the eventual outcome. But I don't think it's a stretch to say that his contribution at that time, in those circumstances, was absolutely critical to the eventual result.

I'm not really sure what we're arguing about here. It was critical at the time, but if others hadn't contributed to that point it wouldn't have mattered.

Anyway stop pretending you actually like cricket Sledger no-one buys it, you are only her because of Pothas.

 

[sledger]

Forgot to sign out of the Sledger account and into the Pothas one before making the above posts tbh.

 

[fredfertang]

I'm not really sure what we're arguing about here.

Don't forget that sledger is a lawyer - he argues for the sake of it, it's just the way he is - its the parents I feel sorry for

 

[Burgey]

To paraphrase Jamie from The Thick of It, the ECB leaks so much it's front office is about as secure as a hymen at a South London Comprehensive.

The leaking of a dossier on a player by a governing body is possibly the lowest act of Administratove bastadry I can think of. The whole thing has been handled terribly, but this takes the cake. Giles Clark's position is untenable. Even I he didn't know about the leaking, it's happened on his watch and is appalling.

Any administration worth its salt would have maintained a steely silence, and simply said the team has moved on, whilst at te same time issuing an edict to its current players not to get involved.

It's hilarious but utterly woeful at the same time. It's Pakistanesque, this stuff.

 

[harsh.ag]

Oh come on Burgey, that's why it is so enrapturing. Pipe down, and go get some popcorn, there is enough fun to go around for everyone

Btw, how did Swann and Broad get away with that twitter handle thing?

 

[Pothas]

Forgot to sign out of the Sledger account and into the Pothas one before making the above posts tbh.

Should have gone for the Kendall one tbh.

 

[Jono]

To paraphrase Jamie from The Thick of It, the ECB leaks so much it's front office is about as secure as a hymen at a South London Comprehensive.

The leaking of a dossier on a player by a governing body is possibly the lowest act of Administratove bastadry I can think of. The whole thing has been handled terribly, but this takes the cake. Giles Clark's position is untenable. Even I he didn't know about the leaking, it's happened on his watch and is appalling.

Any administration worth its salt would have maintained a steely silence, and simply said the team has moved on, whilst at te same time issuing an edict to its current players not to get involved.

It's hilarious but utterly woeful at the same time. It's Pakistanesque, this stuff.

Yeah it is pathetic.

 

[Jono]

To paraphrase Jamie from The Thick of It, the ECB leaks so much it's front office is about as secure as a hymen at a South London Comprehensive.

The leaking of a dossier on a player by a governing body is possibly the lowest act of Administratove bastadry I can think of. The whole thing has been handled terribly, but this takes the cake. Giles Clark's position is untenable. Even I he didn't know about the leaking, it's happened on his watch and is appalling.

Any administration worth its salt would have maintained a steely silence, and simply said the team has moved on, whilst at te same time issuing an edict to its current players not to get involved.

It's hilarious but utterly woeful at the same time. It's Pakistanesque, this stuff.

Yeah it is pathetic.

 

[harsh.ag]

David Hopps' review of the book. A few bits:

Sometimes it is also about Right v Wrong, but mostly it is about English cricket's failure to control - and, yes, often to understand - the most individualistic, egotistical, inspirational, crowd-pleasing cricketer of his generation...

Whether Pietersen realises it or not, it is also about a failed relationship.... In his drive for marginal gains, Flower once encouraged psychometric testing of England's players and one of the discoveries was that Pietersen was an introvert.... Flower is conventional, diligent, precise and rigid; Flower likes to plan and gives praise sparingly; Flower is a private man of great integrity who keeps his relationships on an even keel. Pietersen is the opposite. Pietersen is intensely emotional, lives for the moment, craves praise and dislikes criticism. By his own admission, he has no time for planning - he stares out of the window at team meetings and views coaches as largely redundant...

Pietersen's very presence repeatedly lays bare the problems of a conservative, fastidious and unwieldy hierarchy in handling the assertive individualism more prevalent in the modern game. The moment England start losing, and Pietersen's form dips, they get shot of him....

As for fake Twitter accounts and Tweetgate, why the coaching staff did not bang heads together and sort both in 24 hours is a question that lingers. In English cricket, authority is too often invested in those away from the action. England players' involvement in KP Genius displays a crass failure to recognise that with his ego came sensitivity...

He is a South African in England, a star player who needs his ego perpetually feeding, but who is not just excluded from the dressing-room clique but is mocked by it. When he asks for a break to see his wife and family, it is routinely refused. Others get their breaks: it is that IPL punishment thing again. Even his injuries - serious injuries - are disparaged by Flower. A fair and honest man, Flower's disenchantment with Pietersen begins to demean him....

....it is a legitimate work of propaganda (so much propaganda has been thrown in his direction, he had little choice but to reply in kind)....

But at a time when so many cricket autobiographies are cravenly dull, when player interviews are delivered as if by rote, and the governing body forever asserts its right to rule in near-secrecy, Pietersen's flawed and overwrought cri de coeur is a book that was better written...

 

[Agent Nationaux]

I found homework gate just as pathetic, funny and enjoyable.

When your own team (Pak) ****s up so much it's always enjoyable to watch another team self destruct.

 

[GIMH]

Homework gate is not a patch on this though let's be fair

 

[grecian]

Homework gate is not a patch on this though let's be fair

Well, colonials are always going to be inferior TBF.