KP says he 'wants to commit to all forms of cricket for England'

I presume he'll be 'rested' for the NZ tests or something

Well, if the ECB and KP have genuinly come to a compromise that suits both, it can only be good for all parties.

Posted about this in the other KP thread. I'm really pleased they've made what seems a sensible decision. Hopefully not too many bridges irreparably burnt. It is absurd to have spiralled this far out of control, given the apparently petty nature of some of the issues. Glad sense has prevailed and the fans aren't losing out on a great talent clearly still in his prime.

GSC wrote:I presume he'll be 'rested' for the NZ tests or something

ha ha ha...all is well and that ends well.
he conceded on record...and saved ECB the face...in public, atleast notionally.

they will pay him more dollars....or ease the bar for him to make more dollars in some form....we will find out soon.
Since Lawyers were involved, I am sure he got in written ECB's commtiments in a contrcatually binding form.

What is the moral of the story.....if you are a superstar, with nothing to lose and your employers need you more than you need them, you can twist their arms.

he is clever and that's why I am a fan

i..........agree........good.....show..........sir

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiaZnXayjTQ

Hopes that's the end of all the nonsense, and the ECB and Pietersen have worked things out for good.

I would assume that:

- He has been told his request to miss the early-season Tests won't be accepted, but reassured that he will be well managed (i.e. frequently rested) in ODIs

- He has been told that, as per this season, he'll be able to play a part in the IPL. How big that part is will depend on the England schedule

- He was told that if he didn't accept those terms, and apologise in private for the issues he's caused he would be dropped

My guess is that that was enough to satisfy him. The next questions are:

1. Does he get picked for the World T20?
2. Now that Cook/ Bell is going so well, where does he bat in ODIs?

I'd think that KP has to come in for Tritt in ODIs given how well the rest of the batsmen have been playing.

Pietersen accepted that his comments in Monday night's press conference following the second South Africa Test at Leeds had been emotional and unhelpful, but said he had held long discussions with a teammate in which many problems had been resolved.

"The mood in the dressing room, in the last 24 hours, has been sorted out. I had a really good long chat with a team-mate of mine yesterday. We went through everything. We went through differences. We went through everything. I finished that conversation a very happy bloke and somebody who can't wait to meet with the team on Tuesday."

Anyone know who that team-mate is?

If I had to guess, and it is indeed related to the twitter thing, then Swann

GSC wrote:If I had to guess, and it is indeed related to the twitter thing, then Swann

I'm plumping for Straussy, and a long standing dispute or differences.

I think the Twitter thing was probably a red herring.

I can't imagine Swann taking that stance. Come to think of it Strauss, or perhaps Prior, are the only guys who I can imagine having a sensible 'clear the air' chat with KP.

Just so glad that KP and the ECB have soughted this sorry mess. Great for both and the fans.

KP would have regretted it for the rest of his life, so a little more respect from me to KP for being big enough to admit mistakes.

Swann would be most likely to read out the stuff and take the **** out of KP in general I'd think though. That guy loves his twitter banter

it was a hilarious drama and entertainment......shades of Pakistani dressing room a la Afridi and MoYo and Younis khan styled....making some or all of following statements...
I am retiring from all forms....
sorry I was retiring only from tests...
No No.....I was retiring only as a captain but am availbale as a player....
Oh I was retiring only for now.......will be availbale later.....
now on popular public demands and to serve my country I am back..


How many think thatv the last act of ECB vs. KP drama is already over ???

skyeman wrote:Just so glad that KP and the ECB have soughted this sorry mess. Great for both and the fans.

KP would have regretted it for the rest of his life, so a little more respect from me to KP for being big enough to admit mistakes.

If KP didn't change his stance and backtracked over his decision, not only would he have regretted it for the rest of his life, but he also wouldn't have been able to do anything to put things right by then as he would have retired by that stage from all forms of the game.

Has he agreed this with the ECB though? Has he talked to them? Could be further twists in this. Did they know he was making and recoding this interview.....there is still time for the ECB to muck this up further...

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/576997.html

Let's hope that this drama is all over now. KP has unretired himself from limited-overs cricket, and has dropped his demands to play in a full IPL season.

The Test team squad was going to be named this morning (maybe without KP) but yesterday they stated that it will be put back to 2.30 Sunday afternoon.

So both have definitely spoken.

I guess every now and then a team has a star that is also a problem child. For now it seems some form of order has been restored.

KP should make sure he doesn't overplay his hand, the ECB will come to a point where they won't tolerate his personality any longer.

Biltong wrote:I guess every now and then a team has a star that is also a problem child. For now it seems some form of order has been restored.

KP should make sure he doesn't overplay his hand, the ECB will come to a point where they won't tolerate his personality any longer.

Very true. That said, the ECB need to stop acting like a bunch of inflexible old gits. For every mistake KP has made, they've equalled.

DouglasJardinesbox wrote:

Biltong wrote:I guess every now and then a team has a star that is also a problem child. For now it seems some form of order has been restored.

KP should make sure he doesn't overplay his hand, the ECB will come to a point where they won't tolerate his personality any longer.

Very true. That said, the ECB need to stop acting like a bunch of inflexible old gits. For every mistake KP has made, they've equalled.

Accepted, but if they are the guys paying the salaries, it doesn't come into play when they decide they have had enough of him.

Not picked for the final test

Are you serious, KP has not been picked?

Yeah he has been left out and Bairstow is recalled.

Jonathan Agnew ‏@Aggerscricket
Confirm KP dropped. One key issue is texts he sent to SA players during Leeds test, reported to be unflattering to Flower & Strauss.

Seems to be the problem

So they (ECB) can do unflattering things to KP (leak details re his private conversations), and then play the wounded hurt party? Pathetic. Hope SA win by an innings and 200 runs. And I'm going on Friday. They are a joke.

I think it's the right decision for the team. They need to be all together, and with KP there it is clear there is not a happy camp. With him gone they can get on with trying to win the final test, while all this rubbish is sorted out

Absurd from the ECB.

KP basically comes crawling back with his tail between his legs, in public, and they still stick the boot in. Before today KP was certainly in the wrong throughout this situation but he has now fully accepted that and apologised, wishing to move on. Now it's definitely the ECB who are in the wrong, throwing their toys out of the pram and holding a petty grudge. Really disappointing. Hopefully it's just a 1 match punishment rather than an ongoing issue.

England's chances of winning the test are massively reduced, SA will be confident and fired up. Maybe a chance for Bairstow and Taylor to stake a claim for the 6 spot but England need KP and KP needs England for at least the foreseeable future. Also, paying fans wont be happy to miss out on seeing the star man due to a petty dispute.

Shocking decision. The guy c****d up, apologised now let's move on and win the final test. England must come first, so in that case kp should be playing. To drop your best player like this is a disgrace, clearly Strauss has a problem with him.

He was the form batsmen and the reason England are still in this series. Now, we have Bairstow who looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights against the west indies, coming in against the best bowling attack in cricket, and Taylor playing in his second test match.

Only one team I can see winning now, like to be proven wrong but this will come back to bite the selectors, flower and Strauss. This is the equivilant of south Africa dropping amla after the first test.

Olly wrote:I think it's the right decision for the team. They need to be all together, and with KP there it is clear there is not a happy camp. With him gone they can get on with trying to win the final test, while all this rubbish is sorted out

Yep, with Tayor and / or Bairstow in the team, then can go on and win it. People are making it sound like this is a team game, when it really is a bunch of individuals playing together. KP having a big ego is going to make Cook bat badly, or Broad bowl poorly? Really? It's all about the ECB's ego. And Flower. Weilding the axe makes them look like 'big men'. They are supposed to be leaders, they are acting like children.

Amla doesn't make waves though.

Olly wrote:I think it's the right decision for the team. They need to be all together, and with KP there it is clear there is not a happy camp. With him gone they can get on with trying to win the final test, while all this rubbish is sorted out

It isn't right for the team because they have dropped their BEST player, the one who ripped apart the south Africa bowling attack in the last game. Bairstow is not ready for test cricket as shown against the windies and Taylor is only in his second test match. Plus strauss can't buy a run.

And Anderson didn't help matters with his comments in the Mail. Yet he bleated like a stuck pig when he got rested.

In future, we should pick the team with the best personality. Maybe check if they help old ladies across the road. Forget about ability, pick the nice boys...and the nie boys only. That way Straussy will play for ever....even though he's going downhill faster than Mo Farrah coming down Ben Nevis...

I think Strauss will/should step down after this series, purely based on run scoring. Ok he scored 2 against the windies but it's not exactly one of the big boys, sammy as the third seamed says it all really.

martyr wrote:

Olly wrote:I think it's the right decision for the team. They need to be all together, and with KP there it is clear there is not a happy camp. With him gone they can get on with trying to win the final test, while all this rubbish is sorted out

It isn't right for the team because they have dropped their BEST player, the one who ripped apart the south Africa bowling attack in the last game. Bairstow is not ready for test cricket as shown against the windies and Taylor is only in his second test match. Plus strauss can't buy a run.

With KP being dropped for the 3rd and final test, I believe that the selectors did this move so that it will give them an easier decision to make regarding the final combination makeup of the final playing XI. Hence, I believe that England are likely to play 5 batsmen with 5 bowlers in order to give them the best possible chance of getting 20 wickets. I would seriously consider moving Prior to 5, with Taylor keeping his current batting place at number 6.

We'll have to hope cook and trott can fire. Cook looks in great touch and trott has looked good for a 100 only to play a poor shot, very unlike him. Prior has been immense so far, hopefully Taylor can play with the same temperament as he showed in the last test. Still, how kp has been dropped I don't know.

If KP is sending derogatory messages to SA about Strauss and Flower he deserves to be dropped.

Absolute ****

According to the BBC:

"Kevin Pietersen has been dropped by England for the third Test after he was unable to prove he did not send derogatory text messages about fellow team-mates to the South Africa team."

So essentially, the ECB are going with a mantra of 'guilty until proven innocent.' I'm fully expecting KP to do another U-Turn and retire from all forms of International Cricket and finish his career in the IPL or Big Bash leagues. The link below is what the Texts are about:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/9469409/England-v-South-Africa-Kevin-Pietersens-mystery-text-messages-to-rivals-set-to-stay-undisclosed.html

The mantra of show us you didn't Kevin and we'll let it go.

If Pieterson did do it theres absolutely no defending him.

GSC wrote:The mantra of show us you didn't Kevin and we'll let it go.

If Pieterson did do it theres absolutely no defending him.

Totally agree with ya GSC. If he has done it, it is completely unacceptable behaviour

He's a very naughty boy. Sending texts. How dare he. Unbelievable. What age are these people? Leeking details of private discussions are 100 times worse, yet......now I'm repeating myself, so I'll stop.

Wonder what the texts were? Maybe his average v SA? (21.5).....

If he is slagging off his own teammates behind there back, would they want him in the dressing room? Not a chance. It would destroy the team morale

Hes messaging the opposition and putting down his coach and captain.

You can't seriously be defending KP if thats true.

DouglasJardinesbox wrote:He's a very naughty boy. Sending texts. How dare he. Unbelievable. What age are these people? Leeking details of private discussions are 100 times worse, yet......now I'm repeating myself, so I'll stop.

Wonder what the texts were? Maybe his average v SA? (21.5).....

Perhaps these texts were those of the dirty, sordid variety!

GSC wrote:Hes messaging the opposition and putting down his coach and captain.

You can't seriously be defending KP if thats true.

Seriously, this is not a bunch of kids at nursery. Who cares. He's paid to play cricket, not treat his colleagues like they were royalty. Could be tongue in cheek for all we know. Over-reaction of the decade. Just ECB getting their own back....

DouglasJardinesbox wrote:Has he agreed this with the ECB though? Has he talked to them? Could be further twists in this. Did they know he was making and recoding this interview.....there is still time for the ECB to muck this up further...

you must be a prophet

Not a prophet, just been watching these fuddies for 30 years. They do not have a clue.....

Where did they get that quote from? Off Smiths' mobile phone?

So will Pietersen put this disappointment behind him and go on to show his 'commitment to all forms of cricket for England' by playing for Surrey in the English County Championship this week? I somehow doubt it.

A very confusing set of developments. I guess we still don't know the full story, so I won't judge the ECB right now.

All I can say is that not having KP won't suddenly make us a terrible team, though having two inexperienced batters isn't ideal. We still have 4 world class batsmen, and I include the captain in that.

I suppose the natural reaction from KP will be another u-turn, and probable retirement. It may be that his position is now untenable in any case.