Despite a change in captain for England’s ODI team ahead of the World Cup, it looks like Kevin Pietersen is no closer to making his return from international exile.
It was reported in the UK’s Daily Telegraph that Paul Downton, England team managing director and selector, has told new captain Eoin Morgan that Pietersen is not available to be picked for the World Cup.
Pietersen tweeted his support for Morgan upon being awarded the captaincy, and expressed a desire to play for his good friend.
Great news that @Eoin16 is new England 1-day captain. Top player, leader and bloke. Hope I get to play for him.
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) December 19, 2014
Pietersen even told Channel Ten, while mic-ed up on the field, that he hoped the ECB had a TV on so they could watch his performance.
But Downton said Pietersen is even further away from being recalled than before his recent autobiography was released, mostly due to the bridges he burned as a result of the scathing attacks on several former teammates and former coach Andy Flower.
For England cricket fans, there is no more polarising player than Kevin Pietersen.
Just a quick trawl through Internet message boards unearths more conflicting opinions about the South African-born batsman.
After the TMS Facebook page suggested Pietersen was playing himself into contention after scoring a 46 ball 66 in Thursdays Big Bash opener in Adelaide, especially considering England had just suffered another demoralising series defeat in Sri Lanka just one month before the World Cup, plenty of different opinions were voiced.
Some expressed a desire to move on and promised a dreary outlook of multiple repetitive discussions on Pietersen throughout the rest of his globetrotting Twenty20 career, a career which could last another six or more years.
However there were many who issued a passionate defence of ‘England’s best active batsman’ and how the current shambles that is the England one day team could do with a batsman who has proven ability to score international runs.
Players such as Western Australia stalwart Marcus North have recently taken to Twitter to voice his disappointment at the way KP has been treated by the ECB, and he’s not the only one.
I know @KP24 is not everyone's cup of tea but why is he treated with such disrespect by England cricket? #englandsbest #shame
— Marcus North (@Marcus_North) December 20, 2014
Former player Steve Harmison and respected BBC commentator Jonathan Agnew, to name but two, gave plenty of credence to Pietersen’s account of a bullying clique among some senior players in a BBC interview last month, although their stance on KP’s England future isn’t as clear cut.
However, the ECB have chosen to bury their heads in the sand, ignore the criticism and instead continue to lay blame at the feet of KP (their highest runscorer on tour it should be remembered) for the embarrassing Ashes capitulation last year.
And an interesting article by Jonathan Liew, also in the Telegraph, suggests Cook is the latest fall guy for a failing England management team after the Sri Lanka loss.
Although few would argue Cook was woefully out of form and perhaps not suited for modern one day international cricket, perhaps England’s management should look at themselves if this World Cup campaign turns out to be the disappointment everyone is expecting.
Maybe a failure here in Australia and New Zealand next year will force a change at the very top. Maybe new management will include better man-mangers, allowing the best players to play for their country.
Because I believe this is the biggest issue with Pietersen. If you have a good player who is slightly unconventional, maybe even a little needy, it requires good man-management to get the best out of them and allow them to play their best.
Michael Vaughan was one such example. The former England captain was an exceptional leader of cricketers. Nobody ever criticised Pietersen when he was in charge, along with ultra disciplinarian coach, Duncan Fletcher.
Was that a result of the team winning? Or was the teams greatest asset well managed and accommodated in a structure that allowed him to play to the best of his abilities?
Maybe Eoin Morgan will prove to be such a leader, and if England’s poor form continues, perhaps Morgan will be able to have more say in who he picks in his side. What captain wouldn’t want the best players available playing for them?
Either way it seems that cricket fans in Australia and around the world will have to make do with seeing KP score runs in the Big Bash, instead of on the biggest stage for England early next year.
Although I’m sure not many Australian cricket fans will shed too many tears at England’s current plight, I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that not seeing the best players in the World Cup, such as Kevin Pietersen, is a real shame.
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