The All Time XI For All Time: West Indies
Through electric bowling, dashing batting and acrobatic fielding the West Indies made themselves one of the most popular teams throughout history.
Andrew Flintoff denied on Tuesday he had stabbed Kevin Pietersen in the back in his row with coach Peter Moores, saying he wanted both of them to stay despite the bust-up that cost them their jobs.
But Flintoff admitted in an interview with the Daily Mirror that he had not realised how bad things were between the two, having only rejoined the side last summer after being off for a long spell with an ankle injury.
“I hoped both of them could carry on in their jobs. I supported Kevin as captain, and I also enjoyed working with Peter,” Flintoff said.
“It is a shame that things had to end the way they did.
“I guess something had to happen, but I probably didn’t realise how serious it was between them. Having only been involved for a short space of time, I didn’t see it coming.”
The all-rounder said he had told Pietersen before their trip to India that he wanted him and Moores to stay on, “but obviously it has not turned out that way”.
Flintoff rejected any suggestions that he engineered his captain’s downfall, saying: “The support was there from me for Kevin as captain.
“I’ve spoken to Kev and the way I’ve acted in team meetings and on the field completely flies in the face of those accusations. My job is to support the captain and that doesn’t change.”
Flintoff insisted England could move on from the row and expressed confidence in new Test captain Andrew Strauss.
“We need to get on a roll of winning games and if we can do that, what has happened over the past few weeks will be forgotten,” the 31-year-old said.
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Through electric bowling, dashing batting and acrobatic fielding the West Indies made themselves one of the most popular teams throughout history.
After posting 92 with the bat, the RCB star was having an equally brilliant day in the field.
The RCB opener posted a man-of-the-match 92 off 47, as his side defeated Punjab Kings by 60 runs.
The opener scored a man-of-the-match 89 off 30, in the 10-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants that came off just 9.4 overs.
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