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Loading ...I’m finding some of the criticism of KP both xenophobic and malicious — I think what he did wrong was not understand the nature of backstabbing, closed door politics, and he was just outmanouevred. Why the hell did they appoint him in the first place if they didn’t like, or even admire, his style?
KP goes down fighting
By Will last year, mid-January Add your comment below
If I wasn’t finding all this so entertaining, I’d have some degree of sympathy towards Pietersen. And in a career heaving with controversies and out-of-joint noses, not many people, I’d wager, have afforded him the slightest slice of empathy. He’s a villain, a hero, a saviour and a swine rolled into one. The best players can be afforded some leeway, but not as captain.
His revelations in the News of the World today either showed he had most of the key players behind him, or that he’s a little naive – perhaps even blinkered. Flintoff, he says, told him to stay. So did Harmison. Collingwood, too. And when the ECB phoned him to say “we accept your resignation”, he was genuinely stunned.
Theories surrounding this debacle are floating around like flotsam and jetsam, and I don’t really want to analyse each and every one. We’ll never know for certain what happened. But it seems increasingly likely, as I first suspected, that his brash leadership won him no favours with the board. The ECB like a captain and coach to get on with it, but only on their terms. English cricket has tried to reinvent itself in the past decade, but the stuffy air of traditionalism still pervades the hallways like a bad smell. Pietersen just didn’t cut it for them. He’s made from the wrong (or right) stuff.
That isn’t to say he’s faultless; his decision to approach Giles Clarke about his thoughts on Peter Moores was like a Corporal having a problem with his Sergeant and instead of approaching the Regimental Sergeant Major, he rings Gordon Brown. I’m not comparing Clarke to Brown, although the BS levels are certainly on a par.
The juiciest question remains unanswered, and we’ll probably never find out. Still, it’s fun to ponder. Who leaked this into the public domain?
Answers on a postcard, or in a comment below.
Tags: kevin-pietersen, leak, mole, Peter-Moores |
4 Responses to “KP goes down fighting”
January 12th, 2009 at 1.09 am
January 12th, 2009 at 4.30 am
I’ve come to the conclusion too that KP is just naive.
I actually have a hell of a lot more sympathy for him now than I did before.
January 12th, 2009 at 9.23 am
For me part of the problem is that KP tried to change things only 3 tests into his stint. He had nothing to back himself with – had this happened after, for example, an Ashes series win (or even a typically English valiant loss where it could be argued the coaching was the difference), do you think that he’d have lost his job? That’s not to say that would have been possible, as its clear that KP felt that Moores was impeding England’s chances of doing so and wasn’t going to allow that situation to arise. But without any sort of record behind him as captain, KP was pushing his luck.
The offset of it all actually doesn’t seem as negative as it could have been. It’s a shame we won’t see a Pieterson – Ponting match up as skippers in the summer, which would have been very interesting, but Pieterson should still be there scoring runs, and Strauss will be at least competent if not better as skipper. Moores was probably not the man for the job anyway, at least in my opinion, and if a Moody or someone of that quality and experience can be brought in long term then England may benefit.
But its now down to the ECB to resolve this for the benefit of the England team and English cricket, and not just the board’s wounded pride. Fingers crossed…
January 12th, 2009 at 12.33 pm
I won’t speculate but it all seems poorly managed and far too public. Rarely, in incidents like this is there a winner. Usually, everybody loses. (except England’s opponents).
The tour of the Caribbean is going to be an interesting continuance of the soap opera. I wonder what the ramifications will be if England lose.
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