The Cricket Thread 2016

[UK Redsox]

I'm saying he should be considered, not just cast aside. All this nonsense about dressing room harmony has shown no up turn in form. We should be selecting our best players, if Pietersen is one of those he should play, it's up to the coach and captain to manage varying personalities not just pick people they like.

Agree Paul, but where would he fit in at the moment?  Guess it would be a straight choice between him and Bell.

Pushing Root back up to opener would have been an option. Short term it would have created a spot for KP but it probably wouldn't have been the best for Root or the team as a whole.

Having said that, I'd have loved to see KP against the Aussies this summer

[PaulWinch again]

I wouldn't have changed the order for him. It would have been a straight shoot out between him and Bell on form and good luck to whoever won. Interesting that Strauss apparently offered KP a role as an ODI cricket advisor, which was declined.

Good to see Root as vice captain. I get the impression that this is Cook's last summer as captain from what Strauss says.

[aev]

I wouldn't have changed the order for him. It would have been a straight shoot out between him and Bell on form and good luck to whoever won. Interesting that Strauss apparently offered KP a role as an ODI cricket advisor, which was declined.

Good to see Root as vice captain. I get the impression that this is Cook's last summer as captain from what Strauss says.

Strauss doesn't trust him but offers him consultancy role?

WTF !!!!!

Omnishambles

[Villan For Life]

They had the chance to close this messy chapter in the history of English cricket but didn't. So Pieterson isn't availble for selection for this summer and they hide behind trust issues.

Why not come out and say you're not going to be selected again and end all of this endless speculation?

[PaulWinch again]

They had the chance to close this messy chapter in the history of English cricket but didn't. So Pieterson isn't availble for selection for this summer and they hide behind trust issues.

Why not come out and say you're not going to be selected again and end all of this endless speculation?

Because to retire a player who doesn't want to retire doesn't send out the right message.

[Monty]

I really hope it's not another terrible decision regarding Root, there. The old English strategy of taking your best young batsman, making him captain and ruining his game is getting really boring now.

[tomd2103]

I really hope it's not another terrible decision regarding Root, there. The old English strategy of taking your best young batsman, making him captain and ruining his game is getting really boring now.

General consensus is that he is good captain material though and I think as long as he stays in the middle order, the pressure on him should not be too great.

[PaulWinch again]

I think Root will be ok, he comes across as having the right character and also he's got a good cricket brain. Most importantly he bats in the middle order and that makes a huge difference. It means he can separate what he does with the bat from what he does in the field.

[Villan For Life]

They had the chance to close this messy chapter in the history of English cricket but didn't. So Pieterson isn't availble for selection for this summer and they hide behind trust issues.

Why not come out and say you're not going to be selected again and end all of this endless speculation?

Because to retire a player who doesn't want to retire doesn't send out the right message.

They retired him last year, messed it up and we've had more than 12 months of needless speculation. The speculation will continue until either Pieterson decides enough is enough and jets off to play in various T20 leagues or Strauss  firmly blocks the door to his selection, locks it and melts down the key.

After Text-gate, Strauss will never sanction his selection anyway.

[PaulWinch again]

They had the chance to close this messy chapter in the history of English cricket but didn't. So Pieterson isn't availble for selection for this summer and they hide behind trust issues.

Why not come out and say you're not going to be selected again and end all of this endless speculation?

Because to retire a player who doesn't want to retire doesn't send out the right message.

They retired him last year, messed it up and we've had more than 12 months of needless speculation. The speculation will continue until either Pieterson decides enough is enough and jets off to play in various T20 leagues or Strauss  firmly blocks the door to his selection, locks it and melts down the key.

After Text-gate, Strauss will never sanction his selection anyway.

They were wrong to retire him then and that's the problem. If they don't want to pick him, because the team is performing better without him that's fine. But you can't give the impression that you won't pick someone regardless of how they perform, because it makes you look petty and weak. Also it doesn't help that our performances haven't really improved since he was dropped and the ECB basically placed all the blame for our failure on the Ashes on him.

[Lsvilla]

I wouldn't have changed the order for him. It would have been a straight shoot out between him and Bell on form and good luck to whoever won. Interesting that Strauss apparently offered KP a role as an ODI cricket advisor, which was declined.

Good to see Root as vice captain. I get the impression that this is Cook's last summer as captain from what Strauss says.

because he knows we are going to take a fearful hammering in both series having just watched the pathetic display at Bridgetown

[aev]

The stupid thing is that the middle order has actually done "ok".

It is bowlers we need.

[Villan For Life]

They had the chance to close this messy chapter in the history of English cricket but didn't. So Pieterson isn't availble for selection for this summer and they hide behind trust issues.

Why not come out and say you're not going to be selected again and end all of this endless speculation?

Because to retire a player who doesn't want to retire doesn't send out the right message.

They retired him last year, messed it up and we've had more than 12 months of needless speculation. The speculation will continue until either Pieterson decides enough is enough and jets off to play in various T20 leagues or Strauss  firmly blocks the door to his selection, locks it and melts down the key.

After Text-gate, Strauss will never sanction his selection anyway.

They were wrong to retire him then and that's the problem. If they don't want to pick him, because the team is performing better without him that's fine. But you can't give the impression that you won't pick someone regardless of how they perform, because it makes you look petty and weak. Also it doesn't help that our performances haven't really improved since he was dropped and the ECB basically placed all the blame for our failure on the Ashes on him.

I think it stems from the handling of his "dismissal". The way that Downton messed this up meant that Pieterson carried the can for the Ashes massacre and has played his hand brilliantly since then. He knows the cricketing public is behind him and continues to make the ECB and the management of "Team England" look inept and unprofessional.

For what it's worth, I think his selection would be divisive and would harm the dressing room. The problem is people expect to (a) be entertained and (b) present the Aussies with a stiff challenge in the Ashes.

If we'd have played well in the Caribbean and won the series comfortably then the clamour for his recall would quieten. We played poorly so the calls for his reselection grow louder by the day. This whole mess could have been ended today yet they've just prolonged it. If the Ashes goes badly then imagine the outcry if he's not selected.

It's going to be a massive distraction come July and August.

[PaulWinch again]

Agreed ultimately this is still an issue because England have been pretty poor since he was in the side. Two things come to mind though -

- Senior players were involved with the Twitter account mocking Pietersen when he was in the dressing room. Why are they not treated with the same approach in terms of team harmony? Again you can't have one rule for a player you don't like and a different rule for players you do.

- The Chairman has apparently very unfairly mislead Pietersen. He gave the impression that if he came back and scored runs in county cricket he'd be considered for selection and that clearly isn't the case.

From my perspective Pietersen should only be in the team if he's better than the other players currently in it. He should have an equal opportunity along with every other player. If Ballance, Root and Bell are the best options then they should play. But it shouldn't be a personality issue.

[Villan For Life]

If this sort of thing had happened in the business world then the lawyers would have had a field day. Allegations of favouritism, bullying, inconsistent application of rules etc.

What a sorry mess.