Andy Flower or Kevin Pietersen - who stays?

[ChinamanSpin]

One of my biggest grievances with this is that England are probably going to win both test series this summer comfortably. Root, Bell and whichever 22 year old orthodox "team players" fill in the two other missing batting spots will probably score heaps of runs against non-threatening pace bowling, as the ECB call themselves geniuses for getting rid of our best player and our flaws won't be exposed until we play the next good team (Australia 2015). They say that it's harder to get out of this England team than get in, and the raft of not-good-enough young tryers in all three squads is showing that.

No disrespect to India and Sri Lanka as they'd probably beat us away, but I feel a home loss is unlikely.

 

[Haarithan]

Hahaha ECB the joke that keeps on giving.... Shocking shocking decision.

 

[blockerdave]

One of my biggest grievances with this is that England are probably going to win both test series this summer comfortably. Root, Bell and whichever 22 year old orthodox "team players" fill in the two other missing batting spots will probably score heaps of runs against non-threatening pace bowling, as the ECB call themselves geniuses for getting rid of our best player and our flaws won't be exposed until we play the next good team (Australia 2015). They say that it's harder to get out of this England team than get in, and the raft of not-good-enough young tryers in all three squads is showing that.

No disrespect to India and Sri Lanka as they'd probably beat us away, but I feel a home loss is unlikely.

well i think SL being early summer, yeah we should win that. If it's a hot dry summer I don't think India will be any pushovers.

 

[Chief]

Watch the attendance for England this summer. Can they attract crowds with a losing team and one less entertainer?

When it comes to a test match, THE entertainer. Very sad times.

Seems to me like the ECB are cleaning all the decks while the ship has no rudder. I think the most interesting point Michael Vaughan makes in that article is that there has been no word at all from Andy Flower: no exit interviews, no real explanation, no Ashes post-mortum.

Feels rather like they feel that after this winter no-one is watching and they are making some big plays while it's their decision alone. Well, until Piers Morgan takes the director of cricket post.

 

[karolkarol]

Ludicrous. A spineless captain is the bigger issue. If KP was being a bad influence it was up to Cook and a lesser extent Flower to stamp on it or drop him at the time. To do it in a post mortem review is ridiculous. If this is the triumvirate (Downton, Giles, Cook) that's going to lead England then there are lean times ahead.

 

[barmyarmy]

What is also ludicrous is sacking KP before you bring the new coach in. We're all assuming it will be Giles but if it's someone else you've just told him he can't pick his best player.

 

[karolkarol]

good also from Michael Vaughan in the Telegraph Kevin Pietersen's sacking by England is preposterous and we are owed a proper explanation - Telegraph

That is one hell of a good article. Absolutely hammers the nail on the head!

 

[Lebanna]

I'm not sure he was under appreciated in Rugby. Guy is an English legend. He's also not exactly your typical mercurial talent. He was all about working insanely hard. Almost to the point of an OCD obsession.

My geography teacher was the rugby coach at Farnham when he arrived. He originally didn't pick him for the team because he "wasn't good enough". Somewhat eating his words now...

 

[Chief]

Ludicrous. A spineless captain is the bigger issue. If KP was being a bad influence it was up to Cook and a lesser extent Flower to stamp on it or drop him at the time. To do it in a post mortem review is ridiculous. If this is the triumvirate (Downton, Giles, Cook) that's going to lead England then there are lean times ahead.

There's no question in my mind that those 3 are indeed the future (Not that I think they should necessarily be: I mean they ARE going to be the future, like it or not). Cook is, for me, the right captain of the side. Some sacrificial blood needed spilling to justify him staying there (He has another 6 years of leading this team IMO) and who better than the man who has been a platform for controversy for the last 4 or 5 years?

As a team, they were broken since Strauss exited. The South Africa series showed that. We struggled to retain the Ashes against a poor Aussie team in the Summer, consistently throwing wickets away and the bowlers sparing out blushes. The scoreline flattered us.
The winter series was over on day 2: all the cracks were exposed and the team fell to bits - rebuilding tried to begin by the second test, key players (for various reasons) leaving and by the later tests it was a Lions team trapped in the headlights of an aggressive attack who just looked like they would have preferred not to be there.

KP is a scapegoat. At 33 I guess they figure they've had the best of him and can build someone else into his role. But very sad he couldn't do it on his own terms and has been dragged through this circus - We'll no doubt find out what really went on behind closed doors in about 17 auto-biographies from different parts of the dressing room in the next few years.

 

[Lebanna]

As much as I hate this decision (going to miss watching him bat for England), if you are going to completely rebuild the side then this might not have been the worst decision.

I don't think a full rebuild is needed though, just a significant attitude adjustment. The players need to go away and rediscover their love for the game before the summer.

 

[karolkarol]

As a team, they were broken since Strauss exited

Yes, agreed, in part due to the fact his replacement was(is) overly defensive, tactically unimaginative, overreliant on two key bowlers in Swann/Anderson and as we have now found out, lacking in the man management skills to deal with a stronger personality than his.

A captain should be a talisman, see Smith, Clarke or Dhoni not Tim Nice Batting but Dim.

 

[Lebanna]

Yes, agreed, in part due to the fact his replacement was(is) overly defensive, tactically unimaginative, overreliant on two key bowlers in Swann/Anderson and as we have now found out, lacking in the man management skills to deal with a stronger personality than his.

A captain should be a talisman, see Smith, Clarke or Dhoni not Tim Nice Batting but Dim.

And that is England's biggest problem, we don't have that in our current set-up.

 

[barmyarmy]

I could possibly have supported Cook as captain if he had showed his commitment to England by not demanding KP's head but it seems extraordinary that after a humiliating series the two architects, Flower and Cook, are indulged in their choice of scapegoat.
I didn't think Cook was a good enough captain on the field now I know he isn't a good enough captain off the field either.

----------

Just to add that the ECB has been briefing and leaking against KP for some time and I would expect their to be comments and stories emerging in the next few days (in spite of anything that has been signed or KP's lawyers) that paint a negative picture.
Dominic Cork mentioned today the "altercation" between Cook and KP in Sydney. Might just be me but it seems that players who care about their country should be angry about losing 5-0 and pointing out to Cook where he's going wrong, which I'm sure KP did in his usual tactful way, may be the wrong approach but it was right in cricketing terms. Cook had isolated him from the team and the decision making way before that. Looks to me like he was trying to force a reaction and he, almost, got one.

 

[Chief]

A captain should be a talisman, see Smith, Clarke or Dhoni not Tim Nice Batting but Dim.

I don't see anyone in the roster at the minute... Cook has potential to be a Strauss as he grows though, I'm sure of that.

 

[Dipak]

Shocking decision! Shame on ECB! International cricket was a better sport when Kevin Pietersen graced it. Being an England fa, this decision really angers me!