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They can't let that happen. Gilo is hapless. Derek was in conference with Paul Downton of course. Took Alex I shouldn't wonder.djewesbury wrote:Ashley Giles???? Noooooo
111 all out and 84 short of the target in the final T20 probably eliminates the risk of that happening.LGTrotter wrote:They can't let that happen.djewesbury wrote:Ashley Giles???? Noooooo
Just started, KP over and out. Wow, I never thought they would do it.DRT wrote:When will the slaughter begin?
LGTrotter wrote:Just started, KP over and out. Wow, I never thought they would do it.
The BBC, in an article entitled [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/26040475]Kevin Pietersen: Batsman's England career over[/url], wrote:Kevin Pietersen's England career is over after he was told he is no longer in their plans.
The 33-year-old batsman, England's all-time leading run-scorer across all formats, was informed this week by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
ECB managing director Paul Downton said: "The time is right to rebuild not only the team but also the team ethic."
Pietersen said: "I will continue to play but deeply regret that it won't be for England."
He's got to go. As do Cook and Bresnan. Broad should be subjected to some sort of psychiatric test. If he passes he could one day be captain. If no, which is more likely, he should just go now.LGTrotter wrote:Ian Bell. Or do I mean; Ian Bell?
well, first you have to say does it really? And then you have to wonder what he thinks the rest of the team are for, exactly.I won't change the way I play for anybody because I think I've been pretty successful. It's not a case of can't. It's just there's something in me that says if there's a ball to hit then you've got to hit it. And it works.
I have a certain sympathy with this, although i do question whether it is a case of "can't". Pietersen's gift or skill with the bat must have been at least partially down to instincts and semi-conscious reactions. Even if you can work on technique etc., I can see there's a strong argument that it would be less fruitful in the long run for him to counteract those instincts / reactions than to play his "natural" game.djewesbury wrote:
And when someone says, as KP has, thatwell, first you have to say does it really? And then you have to wonder what he thinks the rest of the team are for, exactly.I won't change the way I play for anybody because I think I've been pretty successful. It's not a case of can't. It's just there's something in me that says if there's a ball to hit then you've got to hit it. And it works.
Well yes, hard to argue with the evidence of his captaincy. He will go on being useless for a while yet I fancy.DRT wrote:I still think Cook should be sacked. He is a useless captain. Utterly useless.
Except that when he did curb his 'natural game' (I think it was Melbourne) he did rather well, as he has done in the past. But simply to say that you are going to play dumb shots and that's it leaves management with little choice but to ditch him. Shame really.RAYC wrote:I can see there's a strong argument that it would be less fruitful in the long run for him to counteract those instincts / reactions than to play his "natural" game.
Quite. It's a team game. Even the fact of it being about individual confrontations does not negate that. Pietersen is incapable of playing for a team. 294 runs in 12 months is not 'my natural game', it's a shambles.LGTrotter wrote:But simply to say that you are going to play dumb shots and that's it leaves management with little choice but to ditch him. Shame really.
Now now. Let's not descend into partisanship. It's cricket after all.DRT wrote:I also heard today (whilst driving past The Bung Hole) that Ashley Giles will be given the job having been told that Cook must be captain and KP cannot be selected. I know little about Ashley Giles but what I do know is that if he (or anyone else) accepts the job with those conditions he is (or they are) not the man for the job.
Treat them all like tube station ticket attendants, I say - put the whole lot of them "at risk" and make them apply for the new jobs in a better team or invite them to sling their hook.
I miss Maggie.
Also see the BBC article entitled Kevin Pietersen: ECB explains why batsman's England career is over.The England and Wales Cricket Board and the Professional Cricketers’ Association wrote:It has been a matter of great frustration that until now the England and Wales Cricket Board has been unable to respond to the unwarranted and unpleasant criticism of England players and the ECB itself, which has provided an unwelcome backdrop to the recent negotiations to release Kevin Pietersen from his central contract.
Those negotiations have been successfully concluded and whilst both parties remain bound by confidentiality provisions the ECB would like to make the following comments.
The ECB recognises the significant contribution Kevin has made to England teams over the last decade. He has played some of the finest innings ever produced by an England batsman.
However, the England team needs to rebuild after the whitewash in Australia. To do that we must invest in our captain Alastair Cook and we must support him in creating a culture in which we can be confident he will have the full support of all players, with everyone pulling in the same direction and able to trust each other. It is for those reasons that we have decided to move on without Kevin Pietersen.
Following the announcement of that decision, allegations have been made, some from people outside cricket, which as well as attacking the rationale of the ECB’s decision-making, have questioned, without justification, the integrity of the England Team Director and some of England’s players.
Clearly what happens in the dressing room or team meetings should remain in that environment and not be distributed to people not connected with the team. This is a core principle of any sports team, and any such action would constitute a breach of trust and team ethics.
Whilst respecting that principle, it is important to stress that Andy Flower, Alastair Cook and Matt Prior, who have all been singled out for uninformed and unwarranted criticism, retain the total confidence and respect of all the other members of the Ashes party.
These are men who care deeply about the fortunes of the England team and its image, and it is ironic that they were the people who led the reintegration of Kevin Pietersen into the England squad in 2012.
Now that's timing.mpij wrote:Chapeau the Netherlands.
AHB wrote:Oh well. I'll console myself with having missed England's only win of 2014 with another glass of Taylor 1992. Or shall I go for the Smith Woodhouse 1997?
Given the prices/selection on their website at the moment (assuming I know where you are) I would go for the T92 again since you liked it so much, or perhaps the F85 as best VFM? And yes, you missed a cracking ending to the match, I'm afraid (I only joined it with five overs to go).AHB wrote:Oh well. I'll console myself with having missed England's only win of 2014 with another glass of Taylor 1992. Or shall I go for the Smith Woodhouse 1997?
Another afternoon in El Vino? No Fonseca 1985? The London Wall branch used to have a few left.AHB wrote:Oh well. I'll console myself with having missed England's only win of 2014 with another glass of Taylor 1992. Or shall I go for the Smith Woodhouse 1997?
Yes, it is terrible. But the hour at which I am responding to this might shed light on my ability to be objective.LGTrotter wrote:Oh no, is it terrible?
Have they appointed Boycott as a batting coach? That's what the England team need to fix their batting problems. And Ray Illingworth as bowling coach perhaps? And Tufnell as lead Press Manager.LGTrotter wrote:Oh no, is it terrible? Does he say 'going forward' or some such tosh. I think I won't look in case it reduces me to foaming and weeping. I was hoping Collingwood might get a role somewhere, and the ditching of that plank Gooch can't be an entirely bad thing, going forward?
Tickets for which test? That seems rather early.LGTrotter wrote:Text arrived today offering the 2015 Ashes tickets. I have no idea who might be batting, bowling or keeping. But I still fancy Collingwood in the coaching set up. Is he in yet?
No. His problems begin and end with his pie hole.DRT wrote:Flintoff for England?
Priceless. I'll bet he's never had BP at 221/131 though.djewesbury wrote:No. His problems begin and end with his pie hole.DRT wrote:Flintoff for England?
I think he'd explode. Covering everyone with pie.flash_uk wrote:Priceless. I'll bet he's never had BP at 221/131 though.djewesbury wrote:No. His problems begin and end with his pie hole.DRT wrote:Flintoff for England?
When I saw this I thought 'here goes Derek, making daft suggestions about the cricket', but no, after a glittering career on channel 5 he really is making a comeback. A sort of sickening lurch in my stomach that accompanied this news tells all about my views on this.DRT wrote:Flintoff for England?
Dunno. Do you call what happened at Chester-le-Street a game of cricket?djewesbury wrote:Do you call Lancashire T20 a 'comeback'?
No. We can agree about that!DRT wrote:Dunno. Do you call what happened at Chester-le-Street a game of cricket?djewesbury wrote:Do you call Lancashire T20 a 'comeback'?