“It’s not all about the money”. In a bizarre about-face, Kevin Pietersen has reaffirmed his commitment to England cricket and retracted previous statements in a video – released only hours ago.
It was only four days ago during a press conference post Headingley Test where an emotional Kevin Pietersen failed to assure his future beyond the drawn test against South Africa.
“I can’t give any assurances that the next Test won’t be my last,” Pietersen said.
“I’d like to carry on but there are obstacles that need to be worked out. There are other points I’m trying to sort out in the dressing room.
“I want to commit to all forms of cricket for England because I love playing for England,” Pietersen said.
Those issues in the dressing sheds now seemingly sorted and Pietersen’s desire to represent England is now as strong as ever.
“I had a really, really, really good long chat to a teammate of mine yesterday. We went through everything, we went through differences, we went through loads of different things and I finished that conversation a very very happy bloke”.
Pietersen, 32, has never forgiven the ECB for sacking him as captain and fell out with his employers again recently, retiring from one-day cricket because he could skip some limited overs series.
The fractured relationship between KP and the ECB once again arose when Pietersen’s request to miss the Test series against New Zealand in March so he can play in the IPL was rejected. Such a proposition the ECB could or would never consider for fear of setting a precedent.
The ball is now in the ECB’s court. Their response seemingly will come with the selection or non-selection of KP in the upcoming Test match at Lords and in future ODI’s and Twenty20 tournaments.
Putting last week’s controversial comments down to his “emotional state” and the fact that he “shoots from the hip” Pietersen would not go as far as admitting he regretted his comments but stated that he “didn’t handle the press conference well at all” and that he is now “trying to move forward”.
KP’s talent has never been questioned, but one must now ask, how will his team mates respond to the latest saga that is Kevin Pietersen’s career.
Have KP’s team-mates have run out of patience with the star batsman? This isn’t a one-off story.
It’s shouldn’t be about Kevin Pietersen, it’s should be about an England side who are trying to hold on to that No 1 status.
England players must now surely be sick and tired of hearing about Kevin Pietersen.
lolly
Guest
When put like that... he sounds more like a Pakistan player than anything else I can think of. That sort of behaviour is normal for Afridi, Akhtar...
lolly
Guest
I thought that's why he kicked off. Olympics are so high-profile you really have to kick up a stink to get noticed in a non-Olympic sport. And he does love the attention.
Kev
Guest
I hope the ECB aren't naive enough to think that everyone in the national side is going to get along like a house on fire because the reality is that the more people you have in a team the more likely you are to have a clash of egos and personalities. My issue with Pietersen is that he asked to be dropped from the test side so he could go off and play IPL and that he thought it was ok to even ask.
Kev
Guest
Given that all of the politics and dressing room issues seem to involve KP I would say he is the main source of the problems. I don't know why he is so stupid that he still can't work out that asking to skip a test match to play in the IPL is unlikely to go down well. Cricket boards should play hardball with players on this issue. If players want to take part in the IPL then they forfeit their spot in the national side.
Michael J Turner
Guest
I have no idea where to start with this one . Except it should have happened a long long time ago . Cricket comes first , nobody but nobody is above the game Perhaps if his parents had instilled some discipline in him, we might have gotten a far better human being and a mediocre cricketer , who knows . What we have now is a universally disliked talented cricketer with not an ounce of brain who married a woman who equally lacks any intelligence at all ,because otherwise she would have been able to address the problems from the inside Having watched him singlehandedly demolish the credentials of Peter Moores , almost but not quite those of Richard Halsall and Andy Flower also ,and simply because they stuck together and were of sterner stuff than Pieterson, they survived and achieved what we have today For Gods sake let the idiot go we didnt despair when Both couldnt pull his body together neither David Gower . We did say much when Gooch and Boycott left we just got on with it . We should do that now Pull the plug on the *rick and let him wrestle with his own conscience , and save his marriage which is patently the problem Eastbourne the class of 87 {Turner Lockyer Giddens Hallsall Flower Moores] later Kirtley and soon Rayner when cricket meant something to 11 people not 1, but of course as people say there is no" I " in Team, there is one in" self possessed idiot" Thanks
Aaron
Guest
KP vs john steffensen...who would win?
Australian Rules
Guest
The mountainous ego on this bloke is extraordinary. A day in the life of KP... ...act like a prat, complain about 'politics', get disciplined, take to Twitter to condemn disciplinary action, gets spoken to by his teammates about it, takes to Twitter to slag his teammates, complains about 'politics', retires, unretires, complains he's not immediately back in the side, complains about 'politics'...and repeat. Talented cricketer? Yes Self-indulgent spoilt w*nker? Most definitely.
Matt F
Roar Guru
And now he's been dropped anyway! Apparently he's sent some derogatory text messages about Strauss and Flower to some of the South African players.
josh
Guest
Cricket is a professional game. While part of building a successful team is trust in others. The other part is about managing the players. You can't expect the 11 best cricketers to all get on with each other. England won't be number one for much longer and they won't reach that height again, if the ECB keep up the charade of everyone has be friends to play for England. While the ECB may not like his behavior they need to tolerate it. Professional sport is about winning not picking the most cohesive team it about the picking the winningest. KP is a player who averages just under 50. Australia found out you can't replace those type of players overnight and expect the same performances. Sometimes star players need to be treated differently. It happened in Australia, Warne, Ponting and Johnson are all examples where the rules are different for them.
Blando
Roar Rookie
He's a talented batsman but quite the melodramatic. I just wonder if the Delhi Daredevils or another IPL franchise gained test status that he'd play test cricket for them instead?
Kev
Guest
Pietersen's brilliance with the bat is the only good thing about him because this and other past dramas confirm that he is nothing but egomaniacal and unprofessional. "Pietersen, 32, has never forgiven the ECB for sacking him as captain and fell out with his employers again recently, retiring from one-day cricket because he could skip some limited overs series." - Get over it. The ECB have the right to pick the captain and they have every right to sack that person if they feel they aren't up to the job. The fact that he is carrying on like the sacking was a dent to his ego shows that they made the right decision because the last person who should be captain is one who thinks the world revolves around him. "The fractured relationship between KP and the ECB once again arose when Pietersen’s request to miss the Test series against New Zealand in March so he can play in the IPL was rejected. Such a proposition the ECB could or would never consider for fear of setting a precedent." - The ECB were absolutely correct in refusing to let him skip a test to play in the IPL. If you are playing for your country you must commit completely and you have no right to cherry pick matches that are convenient to you. “It’s not all about the money”. - When it comes to the IPL it's all about the money. No one plays in the IPL because they believe T20 will allow them to improve their skills as a test batsman or bowler. I don't begrudge Pietersen for wanting to make a living and the IPL certainly pays generously, but if you want to chase that then there are consequences and that includes being required to step down from playing for your country. The last thing cricket needs are players who are in and out of the side because they are off in India playing IPL.
brian drian
Guest
prat!
Viscount Crouchback
Guest
Indeed! But then no one other than KP would have the ego to cause all this hype during the Olympic games! (It was quite comical that he published his little YouTube video just as Mo Farah was running!)
ojg1997
Roar Rookie
Well it is good to see KP wants to play all 3 forms of the game
Brett McKay
Expert
If this wasn't Kevin Pietersen, I'd have trouble accepting all this has actually happened..
Viscount Crouchback
Guest
It's a tricky one. On the one hand, Pietersen is a narcissistic oaf; on the other, he's a magnificent batsman who scores valuable runs. Frankly, I've no idea what the best course of action is - the heart says ditch him, the head says keep him. Rather Flower than me.