Kevin Pietersen

Zen

By these "many people", you mean the ones who tune in once every four years for the Ashes....and even then no one was that bad about Panesar, jesus most people still considered him a fluke when he was doing decent.

FlawlessThaw

Yeah looks like he has been dropped for the ODI and T20s, presumably so he can have some 4 day cricket behind him before the team flies out to Australia. That to be honest is more important than a series which may end up getting called off.

ERICSAGOD

On the BBC Website now!

FlawlessThaw

He's an idiot for tweeting it but it took them at least 2 or 3 hours to notice. That's poor IMO.

ha_rooney

I think KP's relationship with the ECB and some of the players in the squad has been strained since his whole captaincy debacle. Announcing he's been dropped on Twitter and saying 'it's a fuck up' is hardly the best thing to do.

Devilton

Smith was right about some of the things said about KP. He's a snide little bugger who think he's a rockstar...that would be fine if you actually had the talent to back up all that brash talk. But KP's been poor. He should learn to shut up and prove his doubters wrong with his bat rather then his mouth, and his twitter page.

Devilton

No. They didn't. I remember watching an England test at a time that Monty had one of the best strikerates in the world and these people (so ex-England players) were already suggesting how many wickets he would take at the current rate. They were extrapolating and coming up with some magical figures even though it was pretty clear even then that Monty had very little variation and provided no support either with the bat or in the field.

Neutral

I think Monty was a feel good story they all wanted to come good. Indian bloke, representing England, a spinner at that, quiet, polite, and very humble. I remember Channel 9 in Australia being very critical of him, and saying he was decent, but had to add a lot more to his game to survive in the test arena

Devilton

Right, so my point is that every country will have a player that does well, that stands out, and as such the commentators, the media pundits will hype him up, make him seam like he's the shining light.

And that's happened with KP. He was a good player with SA...but he didn't get his chances there. He splits, comes to England with a point to prove, does well and suddenly people are hearing he's one of the best to every play the game.

I said earlier that if you think KP is the best english talent in your lifetime then you're not very old. And turns out the poster is a young in...i don't blame someone who's 20, and probably only started to watch the game a few years ago to think KP is the best and all of that.

He should pick up a Wisden. Talk to someone over the age of 50 and ask them who the best English batsmen is. I'm sure they won't have KP on their top 10 list (and rightly so).

samabachan

Fucking hell

Zen

Well the whole gang on SkySports never really seemed to like him that much, they seemed to be semi-mocking him half the time(a couple seemed more sympathetic). They were probably only showing that stat for the sake of showing a "what if" scenario, I don't think a single one of them ever believed he'd go over 300 wickets.


I know someone who turned 50 this year(he's going to Australia for the Ashes as his late present/his present to his son for Christmas), has been following the Sport from what I can gather since he was a kid, and highly rates Pietersen. Top 10 all-time, sure he might not make that list technically, but you can't really compare Hobbs' era to Pietersen's. I think it's fair to say he's one of the best of the past 40 years or so

Devilton

I wouldn't expect someone who probably started watching cricket in the 90's to understand. But carry on like you know better.

Uncle Junior

Pietersen joins KwaZulu-Natal | England Cricket News | Cricinfo.com

EdWeatherall

What's funny?

Got to give him credit for his desire to play himself into form

Donadol

Pietersen's ridiculously over-rated. You English lot wouldn't know what a good batsman was if one came to you and smacked you in the face with a groin guard.

That said, he's obviously talented. Just needs to find his touch. He'll be nowhere near the greats though. Ever.

Uncle Junior

I thought he was one of the top 10 batsmen in history; what's he doing playing for no namers to try and get back into his team?

oleonenumber20

Who do you support?

I do agree that he won't be as good as the greats, but who in modern cricket will be?

Plus its no great surprise that he has gone back to his former team to get some form

Colin129

Time to bump this, although a bit belated.

Still so overrated...

Red Pavan

People call him a great batsmen, i never bought it and still don't. He is a good enough player that blows hot and cold and is a good striker of the ball on form.

Neutral

He's obviously not a GREAT batsmen, but he is a very good player. He has sucked balls against Pakistan - but he averaged 70.3 in his last 12 test matches.

His ODI record on the other hand if you're English is a worry - he is going backwards, and at great knots.

mariachi-19

Solid batsman, but no better than Damien Martyn was for Australia 'even then I give Marto's pure sex batting style' the nod over KP'eeeeeeeeeeeeee'

I've seen alot better batsman and some of the comments earlier in this thread are embarrassing. Most dangerous batsman? Please, the likes of Gilchrist, Richards and Sehwag say otherwise.


Also UJ's list severely underrates the success of Alan Border. Absolutely cracking cricketer, that is up there with the very best to ever play the game. He was Australia's Keano in the mid 80's early 90's.

Varun_Utd

Very talented batsman. Really thought he'd go on and become the mainstay of your lineup but has been very inconsistent. Injuries havent been kind to him either. Had the talent i feel, that much was never in doubt, never really made the best of it.

Spoony Youngblood

Funnily enough his ratings have remained around the 700 mark for three years.

Reliance ICC Player Rankings

He peaked in 06/07. He's a strange one...I've seen him bash Murali and Warne to all parts...but he's a shadow thesedays. I think he had the potential...in fact still does to be a great player.