Nelson's Column... KP hits out
Kevin Pietersen has broken his silence on his 'dumping' as England captain by the ECB. Nelson's Column probes KP's rocket fuel comments and finds one or two things don't add up...
All it took, apparently, was a five-minute phone call and an email. That was enough to signal the end of Kevin Pietersen's tenure as England captain after just five months.
Pietersen is bitter about his removal, and with justification, as it seems to have been so blatantly avoidable. But the blame for it must rest, at least partially, with the man himself. 'The leaker' (who informed The Daily Telegraph, a paper which employs KP's predecessor as a columnist) will also be reflecting on the past week with considerable regret.
It is clear Pietersen should have returned from South Africa when the furore broke out. To have stayed on holiday when such an incendiary situation arose looks like arrogance or at the very least, gross naivety. His position might have been saved had he sought immediate face-to-face talks at Lord's to clear the air.
Pietersen claims he was asked to produce a dossier outling his vision for English cricket. He did so, including in it his desire to remove Peter Moores, and the ECB took this as a tacit offer of resignation. This seems a fanciful sequence of events, even more so when Jonathan Agnew reveals his understanding that Pietersen had instructed the PCB to act as a 'middle man' in his offering his resignation. So, did he intend to resign or not?
The flambouyant batsman also claims today that he had the support of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison - contrary to the widely-held belief to the contrary. Harmison has since backed this up, but there has been conspicuous silence from Flintoff.
Where the ECB are culpable for this farce is in apparently probing Pietersen's popularity among his players. Captaincy is not about popularity (just ask Graeme Smith) and who is mates with whom, it is about success on the field. This should not have been an issue.
Pietersen is right about one thing: If his and Peter Moores' relationship was irretrievable, one of them had to go. Why both are now on the scrapheap - and Ashes preparations must start from scratch with just six months to go - remains the biggest head-scratcher of all.
What are your views on Pietersen's comments in the News of the World? Give us your opinions on the controversy below.
No matter what happens regarding who captains or who managers England in the ashes series KP will be the star and break a few records on the way to England winning the ashes
Posted by: Roy Wilson | 18 January 2009 at 15:13
kp should have been kept as captain.england need someone forthright as leader.look at ponting of aus.if england hope to compete against the likes of aus s africa and india then they need to pull together.while the team is fragmented they will never compete with the better sides
Posted by: steven. wick | 18 January 2009 at 12:32
Kp was a breathe of fresh air to English Cricket, He was and still is the only man to drag English Cricket into the 21st Century. There are too many old Guys sitting in their ivory towers controlling our cricket, Kick them out and put cricket back in to the hands of us paying supporters.
Posted by: Steve Holt | 12 January 2009 at 14:21
If KP's predecessor was 'the leaker', he is also to blame for the present situation.
Such bitter tittle-tattle has caused immense problems for English cricket, and particularly for the forthcoming tour of the Caribbean.
Posted by: Frank Smith | 12 January 2009 at 12:03
It has all become a shambles.
Good luck to Strauss he is a good bloke but there is a fella sat down in Kent who is a superb captain why not bring Rob Key at least into the squad,he would do a better job than half of them that are there at the moment.
Posted by: Arlene Dryden | 11 January 2009 at 20:34
The guy who needs to be sacked is Hugh Morris.He is a great supporter of Peter Morris and was the one who apparently told the ECB that KP did not enjoy the support of the ECB. He was playing boardroom politics and must be sacked. Once England loses against the West Indies, KP must be brought back.
Posted by: Chandra | 11 January 2009 at 13:36
KP's ego has done him in. Not coming back from holiday was supremely arrogant. He thought he could click his fingers and Moores would be fired on his command while he stood off thousands of miles away. He deserved his fate.
Posted by: Derek Statham, Notts | 11 January 2009 at 11:42