Kevin Pietersens England career over.

[SIMMO SAYS]

May I just say ---- he isn't English, as are most of the better 'ENGLAND' players for the last twenty five years--------------get over it.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Not surprised - he was never a team player even when he scored runs. Probably became more trouble than he was worth, especially given his recent performances.

Shades of when Gooch dropped Gower.

 

[joeinbrighton]

KP is NOT team player.

Neither were Geoffrey Boycott, Shane Warne or Brian Lara. Their countries wouldn't have functioned as well without them though.

 

[KZNSeagull]

I give it 6 months and he will be back in the team

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Neither were Geoffrey Boycott, Shane Warne or Brian Lara. Their countries wouldn't have functioned as well without them though.

Fair point,but Boycott got his 100th hundred in a test at Leeds,Warne gave us 'Ball of the Century' (?) and Lara 501 bit like Levi jeans.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Piers Morgan going mental on twitter....

Does Piers Morgan even like cricket?

 

[Willow]

Shockingly poor decision. If the board want to look for a "change of philosophy", how about addressing Cook's negative captaincy?

 

[Kumquat]

Long overdue. Maybe he can now fully concentrate on KP PLC.

THIS. Enough times. About time he was gone.

 

[joeinbrighton]

Pietersen is cut from the same cloth as his old mate Shane Warne. He doesn't like conforming. The difference being that Warne could publicly criticise the coach and he'd get away with it because he happened to be the greatest spinner of his, or indeed any, generation.

We don't seem to know how to handle talented but mercurial mavericks in this country, in any sport. We place too much currency on old-fashioned, intangible virtues like work rate and commitment but are suspicious of those to whom talent comes naturally. That in part is why we have not come close to winning the World Cup since 1966.

Pietersen's only 33, he could play for another 5 years yet. You look at some of the great batsmen - Ponting, Gooch, Chanderpaul, Kallis, Tendulkar - some of their best innings came after they turned 35. One bad series wouldn't necessarily stop Pietersen from doing the same. Besides, shouldn't who gets selected be the domain of the coach? When England install their new coach (I'd go for Graham Thorpe, by the way), what happens if he says 'I want Kevin Pietersen'. Does he get any power of veto? If he doesn't, he could quite feasibly say 'if I can't pick who I want, I'm not taking the job'. You shouldn't banish a talented batsman because he sometimes won't eat dinner with the rest of the team or likes to go off and do his own thing. I think the problem is he is not a member of some of the cliques in the England dressing room. Would some of Pietersen's character foibles be more readily accepted if he was born in Surbiton rather than South Africa?

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Shockingly poor decision. If the board want to look for a "change of philosophy", how about addressing Cook's negative captaincy?

Now that is a different question altogether and valid.

 

[vulture]

Matt prior rumour that he was dropped for having a go at andy fowler and cook during team meeting after 3rd test.

 

[vulture]

I give it 6 months and he will be back in the team

Don't think he will ever want to play for England again.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Don't think he will ever want to play for England again.

GOOD.

 

[mikeyjh]

The King of Spain has spoken. Shame he will be next Test manager. Shame we can't have a Lehman, who can control a team and sort out wild cards such as Warner. Pietersen probably had to go but shame, shame, shame.

Fug me, can you imagine? It's why, while overall we're a very successful sporting nation, we underachieve in these 'traditional' sports - Rugby, Football, Cricket - Just stuck in the mud, won't change, won't take risks..... Annoying.

 

[Lenny Rider]

Don't think he will ever want to play for England again.

He would love it Vulture, vindication and all that, he would milk it for all it was worth, making a big thing of forgiving his critics nd detractors.

Fast forward 15 months to the eve of the next ashes series, what if he's still the top batsmen in the country? I personally can't see them doing a U turn but stranger things have happened.

 

[pottert]

So the scapegoat has been named,Kevin Pietersen can now be blamed for the reason we got hammered in Australia.

What a load of rubbish.

Yes he may have an ego the size of Australia but the reason for that is because he is good.would this decision have been made if we had won in Australia.

Also given the issues regarding Trotts illness,swanns retirement the change of wicketkeeper & a batting line up that is all at sea,so why ditch the best player that has played for England over the last 10 years.

 

[Gwylan]

Shame it's ended like this but you can understand why. He fell out with cricket authorities in SA, which is why he came to England; he fell out with Nottinghamshire (very badly) and Hampshire. He's seen off two England coaches and has been dropped once for disciplinary reasons:it's not a great record.

England were thrashed by, absolutely thrashed, by a weaker team ... but a weaker team that played as a team with a common purpose. KP is a great player, one of the best I've seen, but as a disruptive presence he's up there with Barnes and Boycott. It's sad it's ended like it has but if England are to go forward as a stronger team, it's probably best for all concerned

 

[spring hall convert]

I'm with Michael Vaughan "I think the ECB have to explain to everyone exactly what KP has done so we can all have clarity and reasoning." Because on the face of it this is an utterly crazy decision. Also, think of the player that comes in.... if they get off to a poor start, unless people know the reasons for this we'll be calling for Pietersen back.

I get a feeling this is a monumental failure of management, I've had Cook's back so far but if he can't handle one of the best batsmen to ever pull on an England shirt then perhaps it's Cook's job that should be in question.

 

[TrickyOne]

What a shit decision.... Was he an abrasive character? yeah.. was he single minded? yeah but he has ability and still was one of the better performers in the winter.

He has become a scapegoat and fall guy for a poorly managed and captained touring party. Successful teams manage big characters and make them perform to the best of their ability. Our captain and management seem to be threatened by him and have sacrificed him.

This, in bucket loads...Fergusson managed his boys; maybe we need someone with the balls to keep him in his place but a nurturing to make him progress.

 

[spring hall convert]

Shame it's ended like this but you can understand why. He fell out with cricket authorities in SA, which is why he came to England; he fell out with Nottinghamshire (very badly) and Hampshire. He's seen off two England coaches and has been dropped once for disciplinary reasons:it's not a great record.

England were thrashed by, absolutely thrashed, by a weaker team ... but a weaker team that played as a team with a common purpose. KP is a great player, one of the best I've seen, but as a disruptive presence he's up there with Barnes and Boycott. It's sad it's ended like it has but if England are to go forward as a stronger team, it's probably best for all concerned

Fell out with cricketing authorities in SA as they wouldn't pick him (I think KP was proved right here.)
Fell out with an unprofessional, hugely underperfoming Notts side, that he'd consistently performed in.
Had nothing to do with Fletcher's demise
Didn't think Moores was up to the job (I think KP was proved right here)
Can hardly be blamed for Flower's demise, I think any coach is going to expect the bullet after this.
The dropping was never really explained clearly, I suspect he thought Strauss wasn't good enough for his place. Even Strauss admits he was right.

The ECB can't stand anyone who is prepared to speak out. At heart still a cosy, boys club. I'd understand if there was oodles of talent out there looking to replace him but no we've got Bopara and Morgan.