Kevin Pietersen's Autobiography.

[hopeforthebest]

More fall out in the England camp but this time between Swann & Gooch.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/con ... 89693.html

At least when Swann left there was one less mouth to feed and a big one at that.

[KipperJohn]

If all this is the legacy so often talked about when the team was No 1, it's fairly obvious there wasn't much agreement over the will. Must be quite a few different versions floating about!

KP's window of opportunity in keeping this alive (in the sports news at least) seems to be closing, unless you're a keen cricket fan.

Whatever views we have, it seems the likes of Cook, Anderson, Broad, and Bell as the remaining senior players are pretty safe for the time being - and to expect any changes at the ECB as a result of this must be a bit like p********g into the wind. Perhaps England needed some blood letting - at least we have some quite exciting new players in and around the England camp, the lack of which has long been a talking point on CMS.

Like alfie I think I've finished on this thread - but not the most enjoyable for me at any rate.

[Making_Splinters]

England will no doubt continue their denial that there is, or was ever anything wrong. We've seen the ODI side lose again and again, but we keep getting told there's nothing to fix. England need to cull the corperate men and get in some people who are prepared to make bold choices, and maybe even have been at the coal face at some time.

[Aidan11]

The view from The Eye (WARNING - Article contains some strong language)


http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.p ... issue=1377

[sussexpob]

The view from The Eye (WARNING - Article contains some strong language)


http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.p ... issue=1377

He he..... I find it amazing that Pringle run for cover

[idlebrain]

Saw this on Cricinfo!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/blogs/conte ... 89369.html

[dan08]

Interesting comments from Eoin Morgan: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/o ... CMP=twt_gu

[Arthur Crabtree]

wonder if Gatting saying KP hasn't damaged England is about his rebel tour damaging England?

[Aidan11]

That's Morgan's England career over.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I think he might be the first player who might get selected who has backed KP since the book. Obviously he's talking up the BB, but even so, the will be repercussions. Flower told Swann to shut his mouth last summer, and he's not playing anymore.

[Making_Splinters]

I think he might be the first player who might get selected who has backed KP since the book. Obviously he's talking up the BB, but even so, the will be repercussions. Flower told Swann to shut his mouth last summer, and he's not playing anymore.

Pre-book Broad did make some comments that England's poor World T20 performance was in part due to KP not playing. Bit daft from Morgan, though you have to suspect he was simply answering a question asked.

[Arthur Crabtree]

KP says he was in too much pain to play back foot shots in the Durham Ashes Test.

But doesn't wonder why he was playing.

Of the following tour:

'The pressure of having to beat the Aussies in Australia is always intense, but Andy Flower had got it into his head that this tour would be about legacy.... We were playing to be remembered and immortalised'.

'When I arrived in Australia I was made aware that the players wanted the freedoms that the players had on previous Ashes tours. And they weren't getting them. They needed a night or two to socialise, to get to know each other and become a team, but that simple tradition became a PR battle....

'They wanted us to win in a certain way. Individuality reflected badly on Flower's reputation as a leader. He was forced to pick a few guys who could go either way on the individuality thing, and he decided he would have to come down hard on them.'

He goes on to complain that the team bonding camp was a farce, communicating in foxtrot-alpha over the walkie-talkie carrying out surveillance exercises:

'Everyone was tired and bored, and had been taken away from their precious days at home... We wouldn't be allowed to see our families until the third Test. One of the guys got so fed up he took off early and headed home'.

[Arthur Crabtree]

It sounds like the team was coming to the end of its natural life and Flower had nothing else to give the team:

'We had a dressing room in which the bowlers were allowed to cow the batters. Flower was like a deer in the headlights. He hated the Aussie aggression. He had produced an ugly team who ground out wins playing within our limits. Now guys who would normally be conservative were swiping at things madly. We didn't have a any new ideas, we had also forgotten how to do the old things we were good at. My role had always been to bring a bit of adventure to the batting order, but now we were just a series of individuals trying to survive out on the field. Then we would go and devour each other in the dressing room afterwards.'

That's the impression I got, of a team that faced an unexpected challenge and couldn't adapt. No leader emerged, like say Cook with the bat in India to show how it could be done. My mind also goes back to Lord's in 2005, and KP putting Warne and McGrath into the stand.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I suggest anyone who has an interest in this read Chapter 24 (The Night of the Long Winded) for an insight into the England dressing room and what went wrong in Australia. There's too much of it to quote.

But there is a point made that Cook captained better in Australia once Prior's influence lessened on being dropped, given England won their Tests last summer after Prior went. This book actually takes some heat off Cook, and goes pretty easy on those now still in the dressing room.

A couple of gossipy points: KP says Swann would laugh whenever Cook said the wrong word or failed to complete a sentence, leading to Prior doing more and more talking in the dressing room.

When Prior was dropped, Pietersen suggested Bell be given a more vocal role as the vc. Cooky replied, you know Bell doesn't talk.

[hopeforthebest]

I suggest anyone who has an interest in this read Chapter 24 (The Night of the Long Winded) for an insight into the England dressing room and what went wrong in Australia. There's too much of it to quote.

But there is a point made that Cook captained better in Australia once Prior's influence lessened on being dropped, given England won their Tests last summer after Prior went. This book actually takes some heat off Cook, and goes pretty easy on those now still in the dressing room.

A couple of gossipy points: KP says Swann would laugh whenever Cook said the wrong word or failed to complete a sentence, leading to Prior doing more and more talking in the dressing room.

When Prior was dropped, Pietersen suggested Bell be given a more vocal role as the vc. Cooky replied, you know Bell doesn't talk.

If this is true then it proves the point I've made about Cook not valuing Bell on the field. A sad state of affairs when you need to be big mouthed to be respected.