Will England call time on Kevin Pietersen?

Firstly, the manner in which someone gets out has very little quantifiable influence on a team's position; you should only be deciding who plays based upon how many runs/wickets they take not the method in which these are taken. Whilst it's true he hasn't performed well, he has performed at a similar level to the rest of the top 6 and it is unfair to criticise him purely because he has gotten out to aggressive shots rather than edging to slip, edging to slip has the same result. Secondly, I don't think you can claim he didn't take the game situation into account, he batted 50 balls for 4 runs in the first innings in Perth and never looked comfortable, the fact is, his best method of scoring runs and batting for long periods is to attack and his second innings here was much more productive because he chose to play his natural game. I'm not going to argue that trying to hit over long on's head into the wind is a wise choice, but you have to accept that if you want players who can change games and win you matches by aggressive quick scoring it will not always work. I also don't think you should consider the first innings pull here and chip to midwicket in the brisbane as giving his wicket away, they were simply either poorly timed or placed standard attacking shots that he would get right more often than wrong. A bigger problem for England is their failure to score freely with all of their top 3 having strike rates well below 50, meaning that even if they have managed to stay in for a while, by the time wickets have fell they haven't actually scored many runs and have placed a lot of pressure on the middle order. This is partially down to good bowling but also down to an over cautious attitude. England's best innings on tour has been the last one in Perth and that was because KP, Bell and Stokes put the bowlers under pressure for the first time in the series.

Seems alot of tall poppy syndrome is coming through! Barring Clarke, Peterson is the most talented batsmen of the two sides and he knows it, which is why people want to jump on him so quickly. As Tom said he's hit 8000 test runs and played 101 tests, so he knows how to bat. He just needs a reality check and he'll be fine. Id be more worried about the captain, cook. he's been clean bowled twice in 2 tests, they we're good balls but his footwork was terrible and a very soft dismissal to fine leg in Adelaide. At least Peterson doesn't look mentally shot and timid like their captain and Matt prior!

Ridiculous postulation. KP is a match winner and his career record warrants an extended run in the team even if he is going through a rough trot and 165 at 27.5 is hardly dreadful. I wouldnt be surprised if he scored one big hundred in the remaining 2 tests and lifted his gross tally beyond the 360 he accrued last time he was here. Take a look a prior, cook, bell, root, carberry... What have they delivered that has been so magnificent. I am a ironclad Australian fan and if KP were to be dropped i would be breathing even easier every time the english assumed their innings. Did India punt Sehwag a couple of summers back when he looked more likely to run to the meat pie vendor than he did down the other end of the 22yd strip? No because he is a once in a generation player that can win you a game in a session. The aussies have one now in Warner. I would like to think he keeps his place if he has 165 runs at 27.5 in the first 3 test matches of a series...even if hes mouthing off at journos, uppercutting drunks in nightclubs and getting out caught at deep point playing reverse sweeps off opening bowlers within the first 10 overs.

Dropping KP would be one of the most retarded selection decisions in the history of planet earth ........think about it , a team with duds like joe root and michael carberry should cherish a batsman like KP in their side U brought up that he averages 28 in this series but he's nearly England top run scorer U brought up that he gets out playing rash strokes ....well u live by the sword and die by the sword , that's just how he plays and it's brought him a shitload of runs in his career He's the ONLY batsman in the pommie side that bowlers actually dread bowling to COLD HARD FACT: KP is currently England's best batsman by a mile and he's one of the best batsmen in England's history and dropping him would be a TRULY RETARDED decision

Like his ego, his talent is undeniable but is his record really that of a bloke about whom so much should be written? In an era where every side has at least one batsman averaging over 50 (covered wickets, helmets, better bats, smaller grounds) he averages 47.6. he's undoubtedly good but is he great? I don't think so. He has played great innings and he has an XFactor that crowds love but he's basically a talented child who lacks the mental gumption to be a great batsman. From running to England because he didn't get what he wanted to his texting scandals, the man's an overrated prat.

I suspect there are a few in that camp The Barry. Cook's captaincy resembles a committee room but eventually he carries the can, so he needs to grow some cajones and captain the side.

Sometimes it seems as if I must be the only Aussie (apart from Warnie) that doesn't dislike him. I still think he is a quality batsman so the question is who is out there that would improve the side by replacing him. Taking into account they just lot a fair bit of experience in losing Trott for who knows how long I'd imagine they'd be leery to jettison even more experience. Cook,Prior and Bell have a fair bit between them but the first two of those have had a pretty poor run of form of late and would be feeling nervous themselves.

Yeah, nuh.

KP has so often behaved like a low class lager lout that it is easy to develop a hearty dislike for the man. He has undoubtably been a test batsman who could tear the opposition to shreds, and still has the talent to do so; but it his attitude which is wrecking his reputation as a cricketer. He has never been a well liked individual off the field, and now the laziness to apply himself when the chips are down, to put the team first, and his arrogance, have all caught up with him. Cricket is a tough game at the test level and it appears as if KP lacks the bottle for the battle. Very few cricket followers will feel any sympathy for him.

never will feel sorry for him

If he did not go for that 6 with Johnson just waiting and played for England rather than himself I believe England would have won this test. He looked good when he was out there but I felt while watching on the hill at the WACa he just had no patience. The pommies next to me were livid , yelling out " hang your head in shame, you are a disgrace". He did not care.

Kevin Pietersen is a once in a series batsman. He'll win the Poms a Test per series but never dominate a whole series.

At tea yesterday on Channel 9, Andrew Strauss said that this loss may be good for Cook as it will give him an opportunity to assert his authority on the team and weed out the dissenting voices in the dressing room. Wonder who he was talking about?

Aggers I think it was, made a good point KP is the type of player that when the batting team is strong so is he. When the chips are down, he isn't the type of player to rebuild an innings, regularly. Should England lose this test (they will). Questions will be raised for the reminder of the series.

I most likely have a biased reason for not liking him (having criticised my country so vehemently after he left) so I am not likely to feel sorry for the man. He does look like his arrogance and lack of patience is a big stumbling block for England. He definitely has the talent and most of the shots required to be a truly great batsman, but it is unforgivable when you consider the manner of his dismissals, not only during this series but orevious ones as well.