PostsArticles tagged as: kevin-pieterson
Pietersen reaches personal nirvana
By Will 1 month ago, 12 Comments »
I gather Kevin Pietersen has been named Michael Vaughan’s replacement. I’m not in London at the moment, but just briefly, it is a remarkable tale. He has abandoned South Africa to play for another country and since become the most exciting modern day batsman: a future England great. He was uncomplicatedly unorthodox in everything he did, Nd though he has clearly matured, this appointment is very much a gamble. It is a huge risk, and England have a poor record of their captains losing their batting ability once they are named skipper. It’s bloody fun though, and no player is more likely to seize such an opportunity than captain Kev.
More thoughts tomorrow. What’s your take?
12 Comments »A gutting decision. But the right one
By Jonathan Liew 1 month ago, 11 Comments »
Following England’s worst run of form for many years, this was no more and no less than was required. With Vaughan gone, and Collingwood following him, the times really do appear to be a-changin’.
I suspect that could be it for Vaughan as an England player, unless he’s back by the start of next summer. As Mark Ramprakash has shown, an aging batsman needs more than runs to force his way into the England team. The pressure to recall him for the Ashes series will be immense, but ultimately will depend on many factors: injuries, selectorial whimsy, his own form, the form of whoever replaces him in the batting line-up, and the form of the new England team. For the first time in many years, Vaughan is no longer the master of his own destiny.
KP is the only viable candidate to take over. The job has probably come a couple of years too early for Ian Bell, and a couple of years too late for Andrew Strauss. There’s the Freddie factor, of course - expect some barmy tabloid columnist to push his case. Pietersen as captain could go either way. His success will depend whether it is ultimately he who stamps his mark upon the captaincy, or the captaincy that stamps its mark upon him. A good first step would be to move up to number three, thus relieving a new recruit of that weighty burden.
And what of that new recruit? After the Pattinson debacle, the selectors are unlikely to look beyond the main contenders of Shah, Bopara and Key. Key is the best replacement for Vaughan’s experience; Shah the closest fit to Vaughan’s strokeplay; Bopara a suitable substitute for Vaughan’s temperament. Whoever they do pick, one thing will be certain: when England arrive at The Oval on Thursday, there will be a conspicuous Virgil-shaped hole in that dressing room. Thanks for everything, Michael - things won’t be the same without you.
11 Comments »Ask Pietersen a question
By Will 2 months ago, 4 Comments »
My mate Dan needs your help. He’s too short to reach the top shelf in his local newsagent. He’s speaking to Kevin Pietersen for The Wisden Cricketer magazine soon and wants your ideas for questions. Be sensible…
That’s enough plugs for now, I reckon.
4 Comments »England dominate; South Africa fold; Prince reigns
By Will 2 months ago, 1 Comment »
It’s late and I’m beery. Briefly, England were disconcertingly excellent today. And even more briefly:
- James Anderson’s catch at mid-on to dismiss AB de Villiers was a bit special, proving (were any proof needed) that fast bowlers these days are as vital assets in the field as any other member of the side. They have to be.
- Hashim Amla’s beard continues to amaze and enthrall. Fortunate not to be bowled when his helmet fell off, evading a bouncer.
- Neil McKenzie has buckets of class and similar quantities of oddities. His obsessive compulsive habits were fascinating to watch, and metronomically repetitive. A scrape of the crease with his bat is followed by a scrub with his foot (right). He glances behind to fine leg, then to square leg, and then composes himself in his stance. Right before the bowler reaches his delivery stride, he mouths “watch the ball”. And when he does finally connect, it’s often pleasingly elegant. A nice sideshow to the series, watching McKenzie.
- Stuart Broad is enjoying his best Test match by a distance. Runs in the first innings, and today bowled his heart out, rarely straying from an immaculate line. Knows when to dig it in short or fire in a yorker. He will be a world force in 12 months.
- Monty Panesar is so hard to play in England. Favourite moment of the day came when he did Morkel like a kipper, eventually bowling him through the gate (with the final ball of the over, I think). Looks like he’s beginning to really know his game now.
- Billy Bowden’s mum died a couple of weeks ago, poor sod.
- Ashwell Prince showed the benefits of patience. Good, old-fashioned Test innings by a very underrated player rediscovering his touch. His celebration bordered on angry; a kiss of the badge was followed by him pointing at it to the dressing room, evidence that for all South Africa’s aggressive wordplay, they continue to be haunted by political turbulance.
- Andrew Strauss’s fine catch at first slip to dismiss Jacques Kallis (off the top of my head) confirmed how important slippers are to England. Alastair Cook has done well, but we could do with another safe pair of hands. Flintoff would do.
- The moment of the day? Kevin Pietersen taking the new ball to bowl at Graeme Smith owing to the poor light. The pair of them murmuring to eachother, staring one another down, was a fitting end to a near-perfect day’s Test cricket by England.
Pietersen’s first hundred against South Africa
By Will 2 months ago, 5 Comments »
I need sleep. But briefly:
- Remarkably controlled innings from Pietersen, both in the circumstances of the match and the opposition. One of the best I’ve seen from him.
- South Africa were mostly disappointing and at times very disappointing. Morne Morkel looks the real deal, but the whole attack’s inexperience should worry South African supporters. England dominated.
- The ovation to greet Pietersen’s hundred was pretty special. When did Lord’s, or an English crowd, last stand for so long?
- South Africa look overweight. This is unfounded, but the likes of Smith, Kallis, Boucher are carrying a few extra pounds. Granted, they all pump iron these days, but with the exception of AB de Villiers this team is lacking the gazelles which once made them so attractive to watch in the field.
- Makhaya Ntini has boundless energy, but even he might tire by the end of this series. He’s got a lot of bowling to do.
- I’d have gone for Nel instead of Cricinfo’s Paul Harris. He did not impress.
- 75% of Dale Steyn’s wickets are to right-handers.
- Why does Michael Vaughan always look so astonished when he’s bowled by a straight (albeit swinging) delivery?
- Alastair Cook is a younger, slightly more elegant Graeme Smith.
- Ian Bell bats like god on days like today. Needs a monstrous hundred tomorrow still, though.
An enthralling start to the series. Highlight of the day? Smith chewing on his lower lip while semi-applauding Pietersen’s hundred. Oh the agony of it…
5 Comments »Pietersen as a Test captain, anyone?
By Jonathan Liew 2 months ago, 9 Comments »
There’s always a tendency to make your best player captain, but of late it’s one England have found it quite easy to resist. Captains need guile, nous, subtlety and tact. Mike Brearley had those things. Conversely, I reckon there’s about a 10% chance Kevin Pietersen hasn’t even heard of Mike Brearley.
For the moment, though, KP appears to the man in possession, which allows a tantalising glimpse into an imagined, post-Vaughan future. The present skipper clearly wants to make it as far as the next Ashes series, although so did Graham Thorpe, you might remember. In fact, any one of a number of circumstances could derail Vaughan before next summer - poor form with the bat, a thumping at the hands of South Africa, a disastrous winter tour, that blasted knee, an invitation to take part in Strictly Come Dancing - you know, anything.
And so, a number of names would be in the frame. Collingwood, if he’s still in the team; Cook, probably; Flintoff as a romantic outside bet; Strauss, heaven forbid. Pietersen, though, will definitely be a front-runner. If his stint as one-day captain goes well or he has a sensational run of form, his hand will be strengthened still further.
What would Pietersen be like as a captain? More importantly, perhaps, what would Pietersen the captain be like as a batsman? This is how the captaincy has affected the batting averages of some modern-day captains:
Ricky Ponting: 62.00 as captain; 55.97 not as captain
Brian Lara: 57.83 as captain; 50.12 not as captain
Rahul Dravid: 44.51 as captain; 57.66 not as captain
Michael Vaughan: 37.71 as captain; 50.98 not as captain
Interesting, isn’t it? The best two captains - Dravid and Vaughan - are the two whose form actually dips when given the top job.
When you consider the circumstances, it begins to make a little sense. Imagine that Vaughan or Dravid comes out to bat at 10 for 1 in reply to a score of about about 500. Neither man is exactly going to come out with all guns blazing. As captain, that would be irresponsible. Vaughan and Dravid feel a great and justifiable sense of responsibility towards their team which sometimes inhibits them from playing their natural game.
If Ponting or Lara came in in the same situation (Lara’s retired, I know) they would feel less constrained by the match situation. The reason? Ponting knows that if he’s out cheaply, chances are one of the batsman coming after him will save the day. Lara knows, or knew, that even if he scored 150, the West Indies would still very possibly lose. Neither Ponting nor Lara are as central to their team’s batting line-up as Vaughan or Dravid are, and they can thus play with a far greater degree of freedom.
That’s not to say that players whose figures improve when they become captain are simply selfish and single-minded; merely that the more freedom you have to play your natural game, the less it matters whether you’re a good captain or not. Ponting could be a terrible captain and Australia would still win most of the time. Lara could be a brilliant one and the West Indies would still lose. It’s the likes of Vaughan and Dravid, in the middle ground, who have to rein themselves in for the good of the team.
The qualities that make players good captains, then, actually render them less effective as a batsman. If KP ever becomes England captain, it looks like someone else is going to have to get the runs.
9 Comments »Pietersen just has to be different
By Will 3 months ago, 2 Comments »
It’s always interesting speaking to the lesser-known people at the cricket. I got chatting to an engaging fellow yesterday who is, on occasion, England’s baggage handler, dealing with their luggage and coffins and the coach and so forth. He’s met all sorts, and spoke rather too gushingly about Glenn McGrath (whose wife sadly died today of cancer) for my taste, but said all the England players were amenable and friendly. He was less impressed with other international teams, though it’d be wrong to say which on this blog.
Behind us, in the car park, were eight black Volkswagen Touareg 4×4s - all owned by the England players. But nestled in between two of these Chelsea tractors was a sleaker model, also in black, a VW Phaeton owned by Kevin Pietersen. These are beasty motors - quick, over-luxurious, with every gadget known to carkind, but designed by a humourless android. The insides and mechanics make BMW and Mercedes’ equivalents seem tacky and rubbish, but the same engine/mechanics were I think used for the new Bentley Continental, which looks like god designed it.
All in all, a horrible, salesman-looking car but a total beast on the inside. Any correlation to Pietersen himself? I’ll let you be the judge.
2 Comments »Pietersen auditions for the role of Oliver
By Will 3 months ago, No Comments; be the first!
Needless extravagance or worthy entertainment?
By Will 3 months ago, 8 Comments »
That was the most thumping of one-day wins by England. We’ll reserve judgement about this new-look and improving England ODI team until the end of the series, but the signs are disctinctly promising: a nice blend of experience and youth, and the younger members of the side (Stuart Broad in particular) are cementing their places rather than holding onto them. New Zealand, well…they were a shambles.
The big topic of the day was Kevin Pietersen. Not just his brilliant hundred but his two “reverse-switch” shots (video below) which dazzled everyone, in particular Scott Styris, the unlucky bowler. They were remarkable, awesome strokes from a brilliant entertainer - and not simply reverse-sweeps: just before Styris reached his delivery stride, Pietersen changed his grip and stance to that of a left-hander, bashing him over cover. Or midwicket, depending on your view. Pure entertainment - more of that, please!
Michael Holding was not quite so in awe of Pietersen though. In fact he feels it’s unfair on the bowler who isn’t allowed (as far as I know) to change from right-arm-over to left-arm. Nor apparently can they approach the crease as if to bowl over the wicket, then sneak behind the umpire and go around the stumps. Holding wants to allow this, which is a bold idea, but surely the umpire would have to know which side of the wicket a bowler was going to deliver from, especially if he wants to keep an eye on no-balling.
Most who watched Pietersen destroy New Zealand’s bowlers will have admired his bold brilliance, and as Nasser Hussain pointed out at the end of the day, there will be dozens of kids around the country trying to replicate it in gardens and parks everywhere. That’s what these professionals should be doing: inspiring a new generation. It’s also worth mentioning that Pietersen is an extreme talent: not many batsmen would be technically proficient enough to time the ball “wrong-handed” as well as KP can. There won’t be a flood of LHB/RHBs littering scorecards around the world, I shouldn’t imagine, so let’s just enjoy Pietersen while we can.
8 Comments »The worth of Pietersen
By Will 4 months ago, 9 Comments »
Kevin Pietersen, one of cricket’s most marketable assets, is on the verge of signing for an unnamed Indian Premier League franchise for a record-breaking $4m. That is quite some u-turn.
Before (February 29, 2008):
“There’s no way in this world I’d turn my back on England,” he told BBC Radio Five Live. “I know there is interest and, yes, there have been offers, etc etc, but it’s not something I’m particularly interested in. Money’s not really too important, it’s not as if I need money right now. I’m really enjoying doing what I’m doing.”
After (April 5, 2008):
“It’s silly to think that you’re losing up to a million [dollars] over six weeks.”
The comparison is a little unfair: Pietersen did justify his stance later by saying “You want your best players playing both for their country and for the IPL. You don’t want them choosing between the two”, and that’s probably the way it should go. If Pietersen or Andrew Flintoff or any other England player wants to make some quick money, they of course should be allowed.
The big concern for cricketers is whether the IPL goldrush goose will, in their minds, deem Test cricket the ugly, cheap duckling. Worse, Test cricket could lose even more quality players if other leagues spawn, such as Allen Stanford’s, thus diluting the format’s very essence.
9 Comments »England’s torpor
By Jonathan Liew 6 months ago, 4 Comments »
It’s not just the long tail. But it is, to a large degree, the long tail.
When you’ve got Sidebottom, Hoggard, Harmison and Panesar propping the team up, the opposition know that six wickets are as good as ten. But England - and this is the thing - also know this. They know that if the top order doesn’t score the runs, it’s unlikely anybody else will.
And so they dig in. But this doesn’t actually help, as it’s not their natural game (with the possible exceptions of Bell and Collingwood). Pietersen nudging and blocking is half the player he is when he’s trying to score off every ball. As a result, I reckon, they’re not staying in any longer than usual, and of course they’re scoring a lot fewer.
In England’s first innings Vaughan faced 177 balls, Pietersen 131 and Collingwood 182. That should have been enough for a century for each of them.*
The lower order needs strengthening, and fast. Broad for Harmison seems to be the logical step.
*Pietersen’s ten Test centuries have come off an average of 130.5 balls. Only twice has he faced as many as 131 balls and not made a hundred.
4 Comments »England aren’t kidding anyone
By Will 6 months ago, 5 Comments »
Judging by the way England’s batsmen pottered and tottered today, it’s clear their self belief has reached a depressing new low. Even Kevin Pietersen, for all his bravado in saying his 131-ball 42 was “one of his best innings”, struggled more than I can ever remember and New Zealand’s patience paid off. They nagged and nagged and waited and waited and each England batsman succumbed. Daniel Vettori bowled beautifully - and I’ve always rated Jeetan Patel, who looks like he belongs in Test cricket - but rare was the sight of a spitting delivery off a length. It was all about patience. New Zealand had plenty, England none. Their brand of aggressive Australian-style batsmanship, born in their successful run-up to the 2005 Ashes, is so utterly misplaced nowadays that when they encounter a low-and-slow surface, they have no answer other than to block.
Patrick Kidd wondered the other day what England’s lineup might be for next year’s Ashes, but I’m rather more concerned with the selection dilemma they face for New Zealand’s return trip here next month.
5 Comments »Pietersen joins North Maidenhead
By Will 7 months ago, 1 Comment »
I saw that headline - Pietersen joins North Maidenhead - and wondered if KP had lost his mind, retired from internationals and joined my old club. Alas not, but it’s quite a coup to sign Charl Pietersen and it’s a cracking pitch…
1 Comment »Kevin Pietersen graces front cover of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack
By Will 7 months ago, 8 Comments »
Scyld Berry, editing this year’s Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in place of Matthew Engel, has chosen Kevin Pietersen for the front cover:
It’s released on April 7 and you can pre-order it now
Pietersen c Sangakkara b Vaas 1
By Will last year, mid-December, 6 Comments »
Oh how simple it sounds.
Pietersen c Sangakkara b Vaas 1
Alas, it is anything but - and the media (yes, I know I’m part of it, but I can still comment) might be making a meal of it in the coming 24 hours. For those of you who didn’t see it, this is what happened:
| 60.3 | Vaas to Pietersen, OUT, and the plan has worked, it’s a brilliant piece of work at slip, but wait, there’s controversy. Pietersen went for a drive at a wide ball, nicked to the third slip, Silva, who dived to his left and grabbed the catch low to the turf, it bobbles up and Sangakkara comes from first slip to take the rebound. Pietersen waits as the umpires consult, Harper raises his finger, but TV replays show the ball appears to have brushed the ground before the initial take by Silva. Pietersen waits inside the boundary, as he did at Lord’s earlier this year against India, but there’s no overturning this decision and he’s off |
Clarification from Andrew Miller:
The difference between the two incidents is that at Lord’s there wasn’t an original agreement between the umpires on Dhoni’s catch, it was given immediately by Simon Taufel. However, in Colombo the umpires conferred before deciding Pietersen was out and the laws state that the third official can only be used if the view of the on-field umpires is obstructed.
This is clearly bullshit and the law needs amending immediately. Like many, I still hanker after the good old days when video replays were rare and pretty inconclusive, but cricket must move with the times and we can’t have this middle-ground where technology is used sparingly. It’s making the sport look pretty damn stupid.
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