South Africa in England July-Sept 2012

[barmyarmy]

All those injuries at Headingley and it was just SA players going off to tweet as KP Genius...

 

[War]

James Anderson: We didn't need this stand-off. The selectors must do what's best for the team | Mail Online

Jimmy speaks.

 

[puddleduck]

All those injuries at Headingley and it was just SA players going off to tweet as KP Genius...

Operation get Kevin back in the South Africa team for Duminy a success He can go back to batting at number 8

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James Anderson: We didn't need this stand-off. The selectors must do what's best for the team | Mail Online

Jimmy speaks.

Interesting that he seemed to almost expect KP in the squad.

I'd say the really worrying thing is the statistic half way down by one of the pictures that England have now lost 5 of their last 10 Test matches.

 

[War]

I see a lot of people/journalist making this correlation since this KP saga started which is think is highly misguided:

Kevin Pietersen: ECB brave to drop him, says Jonathan Agnew

Trying to manoeuvre things so he can play for England and play a full season in the Indian Premier League is not the way Pietersen should be behaving.

Certain New Zealanders do it, as does Chris Gayle of West Indies, but that is because their boards do not have the money to pay them well. They accept players can earn big sums in the IPL.

But English cricket can afford to pay their players well and that is why they are top of the world rankings and both New Zealand and West Indies are not.

Yes England along with Australia pay players better than everyone, which is why since IPL exploded in 2008, contracted ENG and AUS players find it easy to ignore IPL riches, compared to players from NZ, WI, SRI, PAK, BANG.

However that has nothing to do with England becoming a top team across all formats. Its just a simple case of ENG having good players and depth currently.

The issue is one of scheduling in world cricket, in which players should not be forced to chose between playing in the IPL and bilateral series at the same time. Their needs to be a window.

The ECB contract is inflexible anyway, so the IPL franchises even if they want ENG players would not pick many ENG players cause they know they can't get them once ENG have a series going on once the IPL is occurring, which i very unfair.

 

[barmyarmy]

It wouldn't actually be that hard to move the series back. Playing test cricket in May is frankly silly anyway and the gap between the final test against WI and the first against SA this year was 6 weeks. I realise there are some ODIs to stick in as well but you can play 3 of them in a week.

 

[puddleduck]

If they weren't so desperate to have 5 game ODI series to maximise potential profits, they could do it easily. Such a waste of time playing a minnow like Australia over 5 games though

 

[barmyarmy]

Let's play the ODIs first then. 5 ODIs, 3 tests, 3 more tests, 5 more ODIs. Summer done. The only IPL clash would be ODIs.

 

[puddleduck]

I always get the impression that the ECB has some issues with the IPL in general and aren't really keen in any of their players going to play in it and potentially getting injured. Sort of how club teams hate their players going off to play for their countries in football.

I also get the impression the BCCI have no real desire to make it easier for the ECB

 

[War]

I always get the impression that the ECB has some issues with the IPL in general and aren't really keen in any of their players going to play in it and potentially getting injured. Sort of how club teams hate their players going off to play for their countries in football.

I also get the impression the BCCI have no real desire to make it easier for the ECB

Oh ye, the ECB (old MCC) certainly has issue with the IPL. I reckon its a combination of jealously and displeasure as to how India via these T20 leagues is messing up world cricket.

 

[barmyarmy]

Which is ironic seeing as how the ECB were first to launch a T20 competition.

 

[puddleduck]

They are definitely annoyed that their baby, 20-20, was taken from them. The BCCI said it would never work and they didn't want it, then when they realised they could cash in on it even more than ODI cricket they trumped the ECB.

 

[vorgaphe]

Not the end as far as KP is concerned. Thank god we've avoided a knee jerk reaction that's the last thing he needed.

Pietersen - It's not the end | England Cricket News, Fixtures, Results | Sky Sports

 

[sifter132]

I always get the impression that the ECB has some issues with the IPL in general and aren't really keen in any of their players going to play in it and potentially getting injured. Sort of how club teams hate their players going off to play for their countries in football.

I also get the impression the BCCI have no real desire to make it easier for the ECB

This is right on the mark There's a lot of sourness between these guys - didn't help when Modi held the whip hand over ECB during those Champions League discussions a few years ago either, trying to force them to change their schedule.

It wouldn't actually be that hard to move the series back. Playing test cricket in May is frankly silly anyway and the gap between the final test against WI and the first against SA this year was 6 weeks. I realise there are some ODIs to stick in as well but you can play 3 of them in a week.

Next summer's already chockers. England's hosting the Champions Trophy and the Ashes - something had to go into May and it's the Kiwis. So bad luck for those 3 people who clash with IPL: Taylor, McCullum, Vettori - but the world doesn't stop for 3 people - and those guys should have plenty of dough from their IPL careers thus far.

 

[War]

Which is ironic seeing as how the ECB were first to launch a T20 competition.

True. But before the success of the 2007 T20 World Cup, no-one thought that the T20 league in England which began in 2003 was ever going to leave this country.

That world cup changed the dynamic and India just took control of T20's with the good initial idea.

But IPL is divisive thing, so in a way i agree with the ECB as a strong financial board in trying to stand up and keep the sanctity of world cricket intact, by having its best players available for international series.

However this is not the area where the ECB should be using its might. Where was this strong mindedness last summer when they could have forced India to use DRS (although we hammered) or during the last ICC world meeting in Dubai?

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Next summer's already chockers. England's hosting the Champions Trophy and the Ashes - something had to go into May and it's the Kiwis. So bad luck for those 3 people who clash with IPL: Taylor, McCullum, Vettori - but the world doesn't stop for 3 people - and those guys should have plenty of dough from their IPL careers thus far.

Ryder (if he reconciles with NZ), Guptil, Bracewell and Franklin also likely to be in the mix as well for IPL contracts.

So essentially it could be situation like what happened to Australia when they toured West Indies a few months ago, where when NZ come half their best players may miss the two test and may only come for the ODI's.

Pretty sure Skysports will be giving the ECB a call over that ha..

 

[puddleduck]

People are very quick to forget that India refused to back the concept of 20-20 until they saw it had been a success and promptly launched their own league when they recognised the financial rewards that were on offer. There's a reason they went so big early on, regardless of whether it was corrupt or mismanaged. The transparancy was irrelevant against the need to assume control of the potential cash cow.