Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Goochie and Tres were nowhere NEAR the class of KP over their careers! To suggest such a thing is preposterous! Forget First Class, what were their Test averages? (They are shown here by the way: http://stats.cricinfo.com/england/engine/records/batting/highest_career_batting_average.html?class=1;id=1;type=team


I'll put it like this. Goochie took 215 innings to score 20 Test centuries. KP has *already* got 16 in 97 innings. The record in the history of English Test cricket is 22 held jointly by Hammond and Boycott.


I've said it before and I'll say it again. TO suggest dropping EASILY our best batsman for the last 35 years is madness of the highest order!

I?ll wager that the likes of Strauss are just as arrogant as Pietersen when you get to know them personably, they just don?t show it in the same way. At least KP?s personality has (or used to have) a certain na?ve honesty to its arrogance.


Going by my own personal prejudices I suspect he is of a certain type of privately educated, arrogant South African that I grew-up, went to school with and have developed a particular distaste for over my lifetime but I don?t for a minute believe that the England team isn?t peppered with the English equivalent.


But those are my personal prejudices and, while based soundly on personal experience, prejudices are often wrong. Who knows, the guy may be humble in his personal life but just backs himself (very justifiably) when it comes to cricket.


You don?t select these guys on their personality though unless it actually hampers their performance to the point where there is someone who is better.


He is the most talented batsman of this generation. Most runs in his first 50 tests bar none except Bradman, fastest batsman ever to 4000 test runs, and average of 50 after 54 tests and still the best English batsman of this series despite playing with an injury which was quite visibly hampering him.


He is also the most entertaining batsman to watch since Brian Lara.


Most English pundits have gradually come to accept this but some still stick to the original indignation they had in his early career which was based on the fact that he was brilliant, arrogant and South African and that England could never have produced a player of the same calibre.

No question about KP's talent or record so far, and no way he could have been dropped if fit. Having said that, he'd be even better if he tried really hard not to get out to stupid shots, and was able to tailor his game a bit to the state of the match. KP is never going to be a classic 'accumulator' but a Test no. 4 is expected to take you on from a good start to a winning position, or steady the ship if you lose a couple of wickets quickly. Having KP at no.4 puts more pressure on nos. 3, 5 and 6 and makes selection a bit more difficult. He'll win you more games than he loses you, but the Ashes is not a good time to have a (relative) loss of form.


Anyway, it's all immaterial now - it's down to Bopara and Bell.

What have you started Brendan?


From Guardian OBO:


12.03pm Bumble is with the umpire Rudi Koertzen. In short, we will not be starting until 3 or 4pm at the very earliest. "We are concerned about the softness of the ground... water running off the covers onto the outfield... fairly muddy area... do you like my little beard... we will do everything to get the game on the road as soon as we can... I trim it every morning... Do you want to touch it... Gonna have a problem with the bowlers' run-ups... Only 50p a stroke... Touch it... Touch it!!!!",

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Hey are these two keys with no keyring? I lost them a while back so not sure if they will be the same!
    • Another glowing review for Julian!! I am now referring to Julian as ‘the legend’. I had spent 5 years waiting until I could afford to get some cupboards built in, and I couldn’t be happier. I am often allergic to overbearing advice when it comes to work I have commissioned and am paying for, but I found Julian’s advice so helpful. He offered his opinion about my plans in a very constructive way, and helped me come up with a much better plan. His ideas were better than mine! Not something I usually like to admit. The work was exemplary, and he cleared up beautifully. He was communicative and a pleasure to deal with. I am so delighted with my cupboards and floating shelves. He doesn’t paint them, but I think that is better, as it’s a specialist job, and it means you can either save money and paint them yourself, or get a painter and decorator to paint them properly. He is a brilliant carpenter. The only problem now is that I have so much more hanging space thanks to his advice, that I may not get rid of all the old clothes I can no longer fit into!  Anyway, highly highly recommended if you need fitted carpentry cupboards or shelves, and want to work with someone who cares about the outcome. Thank you so much Julian! 
    • For many years I went to Ken's on NXR.  He was pretty much the only barber  in ED  Now we have more barbers than you could shake a stick at - all the way down from the Plough through to DKH and some are empty of customers - even on the evenings and weekends.  I never ceased to be amazed that they continued to operate despite not having clients and realised that they were probably into money-laundering - just like the sweet shops along Oxford street. I went once to one on LL and certainly wasn't impressed with their. My dear wife has cut my hair ever since. I don't believe in supporting criminals. The recent BBC expose confirms this  barbers and vape shops suspected of being fronts for crime gangs - BBC News  
    • People are more likely to go back and retrace their route rather than look on the EDF.  If you’re reluctant to and them on a fence or something, perhaps you could put a note with your phone number there
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...