Andy Flower or Kevin Pietersen - who stays?

[Lebanna]

The craziest part of this axing is highlighted here. You (ECB) are axing your best player with no clear replacement in sight.

Couldn't agree more. Without KP the lineup doesn't look half as threatening as it did.

 

[War]

I wonder if KP wanted to play for S Africa, how long realistically it would take for him to be able to do this.

Unlike football another major faux pas of the ICC's poor administration, is that it does not have clear rules about how long it takes to qualify for another country, if you already played for one.

 

[Deleted member 11215]

I trust that if we are starting over that bottlejob bell will get the boot

 

[RobinHood]

That middle order without KP looks so brittle, especially with no Trott. Worrying times ahead.

 

[War]

Kevin Pietersen's anti-Andy Flower rant was the last straw for England career

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The real reason Kevin Pietersen was sacked: He told 'headmaster' Andy Flower not to treat players like they were kids | Mail Online

Off all of rumours i've heard about what caused KP to be sacked, i sense their could be some truth here. For once, regrettably i must say, Piers Morgan may have done some good.

 

[Haarithan]

Cook
Robson?
Ballance
Root
Bell
Morgan
Stokes
Buttler
Broad
Anderson
Onions/Finn/Borthwick/Bresnan

Horrible, just horrible. Over to the bowlers as always..

 

[blockerdave]

Kevin Pietersen's anti-Andy Flower rant was the last straw for England career

----------

The real reason Kevin Pietersen was sacked: He told 'headmaster' Andy Flower not to treat players like they were kids | Mail Online

Off all of rumours i've heard about what caused KP to be sacked, i sense their could be some truth here. For once, regrettably i must say, Piers Morgan may have done some good.

Top stuff from Goughy! A lot of that rings true, and emphasises that Cook is utterly out of his depth.

Did he really think one training session would have any impact in fitness that should have been built up over months? Why did he need Prior to call the meeting? And clearly didn't like hearing the man he owed his position to getting slagged. Just shows Cook got the job so he wouldn't challenge Flower's position.

Disgraceful.

 

[karolkarol]

In any sensible environment where selection wasn't dictated by ones stiff upper lip and sense of public school decorum Prior and Pietersen would be leading this team. Look at the Aussie revolt against Arthur, if the team doesn't perform and the camp are unhappy the Aussies are happy to do the necessary to fix it. England's attitude to this matter is a microcosm of everything that is rotten in English cricket.

Lions led by donkeys.

 

[barmyarmy]

Vaughan made the point that KP was right and the problem is Cook/Flower asking for feedback/criticism and being unable to accept it.

 

[blockerdave]

listen to this - BBC - Podcasts and Downloads - 5 live Sport Specials makes it sound even more strange/ridiculous

this is literally disgusting

 

[barmyarmy]

Yeah, I was listening last night. I think Bob Willis is the only person to support the decision (and being mates with Downton hardly inspires confidence in his objectivity).

 

[LiveLoveABD]

This is England's biggest problem with not just cricket, but sport in general. They're scared of winning, their media will go banana's at the slightest win they achieve and once they lose, they tear the whole house down.

England's biggest issue since the world began is they aren't good losers. India and Pakistan are atrocious at it too, but I can proudly say as an Indian that we have started to accept that on certain days and every day, you can't win. Batting, Bowling, Fielding etc. etc. are very detailed discussions, whoever the director of English cricket and the coach is, need to learn to lose and accept it.

On topic, this sacking is absolute rubbish. You're sacking the best batsman in the world crossing all formats after AbD on the basis of what? A discussion with Giles, Cook and Dowton? I'm sorry, but had this happened in India, all three of these chaps would have been sacked through some sort of media trial. I think Pietersen deserved to have been sacked and left alone after the textgate episode, but this is just absolute bollocks. I feel for the English fans. Not only have they to deal with the sacking of their best batsman, they have to deal with a reason that's worse than the walloping they've received at the hands of Australia.

England need to make the coach a little less powerful in their system. If MSD cracks the whip in India, people listen. We learnt well from the Greg Chappell episode. England also need to start prioritising the world events and need to stop considering the Ashes as a detriment to performance. Yes, it's a historical series and we all enjoy the rivalry, but it's not the be all and end all of cricket. They need a captain more than anything else with some spine and some personality.

I said this when he was appointed and I'll say it as many times as you like : Alistair Cook is an outstanding batsman and easily the best English test batsman I've seen with a lot of grit and determination with bat in hand, but he's not got the imagination, the tooth or the personality of a leader. That man, has been sacked.

 

[blockerdave]

Yeah, I was listening last night. I think Bob Willis is the only person to support the decision (and being mates with Downton hardly inspires confidence in his objectivity).

the bit at the beginning (with "Pat" is it?) sounds as if he has literally done nothing wrong...

 

[barmyarmy]

Pat Murphy. Amusing anecdote about him in the Brian Johnson book I was reading. Apparently he lost out on the BBC cricket correspondent post to Aggers in the 90s and then upset the establishment old boys by revealing himself as a republican and refusing to toast the queen.
I like the guy...

 

[War]

Top stuff from Goughy! A lot of that rings true, and emphasises that Cook is utterly out of his depth.

Did he really think one training session would have any impact in fitness that should have been built up over months? Why did he need Prior to call the meeting? And clearly didn't like hearing the man he owed his position to getting slagged. Just shows Cook got the job so he wouldn't challenge Flower's position.

Disgraceful.

Cricinfo now running with the story, which could mean its 80%-90% true until a player talk to deny it.

England Cricket News: Kevin Pietersen falls victim to a very English revolution | ESPN Cricinfo