The headline on The Independent’s website couldn’t have been any more effectively written if the motive was to provide clickbait only.
‘Darren Lehmann tears into Kevin Pietersen after disappointing BBL performance‘.
Well – guilty as charged your honour – it had me clicking the link in a quiet five minutes at lunchtime when in search of something interesting to read.
My word, I thought at first glance, what has the Australian coach had to offer here?
And just what has the Melbourne Stars’ marquee player done this time, no stranger to provocative headlines he?
As it turned out, unless I’ve missed a trick, not really a great deal and not really a great deal.
Lehmann’s ‘tearing’ into Pietersen was to say that the Stars might be better off looking elsewhere for a top order man and that he’s had enough of the latter’s excuses.
Pietersen, to induce such wrath, had the audacity to suggest a few of his colleagues might have been better served playing in the Big Bash semi-final at the WACA rather than ordering room service ahead of Australia’s ODI encounter with Pakistan in Adelaide later in the week.
On the first point, if that really is Lehmann getting stuck into someone, then his dressing room bollockings must be pretty lame.
And if that is Pietersen reeling off the excuses, then that particular game isn’t worth bothering with.
It might be your opinion that the national coach shouldn’t really be taking to the social media airwaves to sound off, or that Pietersen has no place questioning the motives of the criticiser when he is a guest of that country’s flagship competition.
On the flip side, you may opine that Lehmann has every right defending how he manages his charges and Pietersen can say what he likes given that it is his side that has had to take a hit.
There’s every chance you may fall a bit into both camps, neither condoning or condemning either of them and thinking this is somebody attempting to create a mountain out of an issue that doesn’t even deserve to be classified as a molehill.
And as this is a double-edged sword, so to speak, you would probably be about right.
It is a debate more than a few years old about whether international players should appear more often for their respective states/counties/provinces/franchises and one that will never go away.
‘Why isn’t Player A playing for X? There isn’t an international game for however many days so he should be here.’
Add to the melting pot a big tournament or relatively important encounter and the ire will only be raised a notch.
Understandable, as who doesn’t want to see the best cricketers in their domestic colours, on a more intimate stage than the international game can provide?
A rhetorical question, of course, as the issue, as most are, is rarely as simple and straightforward as that.
Such are the schedules, it is a minor miracle if an international player gets a bit of domestic duty in. After all, with a few days grace between matches, would they want to turn out?
There is a bigger picture, i.e. deserved promotions and attempting to inspire future generations, yet the fixture list has become bloated to such an extent it is nigh on impossible to satisfy all parties.
Pietersen, had he the boot been on the other foot, may not have been overly keen to drop down a level and had Lehmann been a state coach it would probably be a safe bet to think he might have been cussing the absence of a few.
The perspective is altered depending on where you are sitting, just as it is with any issue which pits club against country.
Whether Pietersen is worthy of another year with the Stars is not the point. Was it a bit of personal animosity reaching the surface which perhaps which wasn’t necessary?
The international game, especially in cricket where it effectively keeps the sport alive as a professional entity, rules the roost.
Until it is usurped by the franchise model – which might never happen – that won’t change.
So as for Lehmann versus Pietersen, neither of them are wrong. It’s just that, in the current climate, only one of them is going to be right.
WesternWarrior
Roar Rookie
Chris, don't think your point that he hasn't made a contribution is fair. Top run scorer for the stars and only behind McCullum when it comes to 'marquee' player runs. If your arguing that he has hasn't got his team over the line then that can be debated, but to say he hasn't contributed is wrong.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
On the club v country selection front, I think that whole thing was answered pretty well when the BBL commentators interviewed Chris Lynn after he'd been selected for the ODI's and missed BBL games. I can't remember the words used, but basically they asked him if part of him was disappointed in having to miss out on playing for the Heat because he was selected to play for Australia, and his answer was pretty much, "not in the slightest'. While lots of people who were enjoying watching him go ballistic in the BBL were disappointed he was lost to the BBL because of international selection in what they saw as a meaningless ODI series (and if it's a meaningless series, then that means every ODI series other than the world cup must be meaningless, well to an extent you could say all sport is meaningless, but that's an argument for another day), Chris Lynn didn't see anything of the sort, he was 100% happy to have earned the call-up for his country and not in the slightest upset to miss BBL games if that meant playing for his country. I suppose players who miss BBL games to just sit on the bench for their country might in the end feel like it was a waste, but for the players themselves, they want to play for their country, and missing matches in the next level down isn't something they would be worried about if it means being selected for their country. And for KP, if Strauss picked up the phone and made a grovelling call saying he was so wrong, and is really sorry for how they've treated him and they really want him to come back and play for England in Test and ODI cricket can he be on the next plane out of there, I reckon he'd be off like a shot too!
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
KP did have plenty to say about Stars players missing because of national team selection, but then again, the Stars were the only team who benefited from players in that squad being released to play a BBL game before returning to the ODI squad also, which is interesting. And maybe that was related to Lehmann's tweet, but that wasn't what I thought it related to when it was read out in the commentary. KP had just got out popping up a simple catch to mid-wicket and spent lots of time complaining about how the WACA wicket was such an incredibly slow wicket almost like it was impossible to bat on. KP has failed to make any great batting contributions during this BBL, and I think a few times has failed while then complaining about this or that. In his defense, they've constantly had him on the mic and been asking him questions, so you might find that he's just articulating thoughts that lots of other players might have but don't get articulated because they aren't asked live on air. But I feel that's more what Lehmann was talking about, KP not scoring runs and complaining about all these external things along the way. So he's suggested that maybe they'd be better off with someone who'd just shut up and score runs.
Mike from tari
Guest
If a Foreigner wants to come & bag our selection processes then he can expect to cop some flack, but so many lines are crossed, commentators being Directors or employees of franchises & other commentators being employees of Cricket Australia so if you have multiple employers then who is responsible for pulling them into line, did Boof criticise KP as in a commentators role or a Cricket Australia role or was it just personal????????
Immy
Guest
Alex, mate, no offence but this is a non-article going into depth on non-issues and not really making any solid points. Can't you get on the phone to the bro and dig up some real dirt involving some current English players...
Ashan D
Roar Pro
What is Steve Smith doing not bowling Maxi ?
Chris Love
Roar Guru
I'm sorry but this time Boof is well within the wrong side of this and KP is bang on the money. Sure if players were legitimately a chance to play for their country the day after a domestic fixture then they don't play the domestic fixture. But in this case we are talking about days and players who were really no chance of playing. They should have been playing club. As for his comments on KP's value he's dead wrong there too.
davSA
Guest
Yes Alec , KP is no stranger at all to controversy . Strange how it seems to dog certain individuals (or maybe not that strange) . Even when as a young cricketer he left Natal/Dolphins to campaign in England there was controversy . He did not go quietly. However they say there no such thing as bad publicity. I mean Trump is already a shoo in for International newsmaker of the year and its only January. Why I'm saying this stuff is that although I live in SA , I followed the BBL with keen interest. What became quite apparent was that in the majority of press/publicity photos as well as players being quoted on and off air , Kevin Pietersen was by far the most prominent. Interest in the guy was really high .This despite the presence of legends such as Hussey , Mitchell Johnson , Warner etc. Like it or not he was very good for the tournament and sorry Darren Lehmann , worth every penny he got paid.