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The notion of Pietersen leading England in the Ashes is unquestionably unsettling to Australians
August 14, 2008
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It's a fairly useful trait to have as a leader, but when Kevin Pietersen speaks, the world stops to listen. Take his preposterous declaration on Monday afternoon, for instance, when, on the strength of one dead-rubber victory against sated opponents, he announced that England have what it takes to beat Australia next summer.
Arguably there was only one captain on show that day who had any right to challenge the status quo so boldly, but Graeme Smith (himself no stranger to bombast) opted for a more cautious assessment of the challenge that awaits his side at the end of the year. Given a few years in the job, Pietersen too might one day look before he leaps, but for the moment that's not his way at all. Though he tempered his words with some belated caution, the context was quickly forgotten by the headline writers.
What was more remarkable than the words themselves, however, was the reaction they caused. Or rather, the lack of reaction, because aside from some ambivalent comments from Australia's coach, Tim Nielsen, there has been next to no riposte from down under. Granted, there are still 11 months to go until the first Test at Cardiff and, for the moment, all Aussie sporting attention is focussed on Beijing's Olympic swimming pool, but nevertheless, the crackle of static is clearly audible from 10,000 miles away.
Certainly, it would be unthinkable for such outrageous hubris to go unpunished had Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath still been involved in the Australian setup. Just ask Smith. On his last visit to Australia in 2005-06, he shot from the hip at every opportunity, and foolishly tried to drive a wedge between Warne and Ricky Ponting by claiming Warne was bitter about being overlooked for the captaincy. The Aussies closed ranks with cold precision, and South Africa were crushed 5-0 over six Tests, home and away.
Pietersen won't be unaware of that precedent, but nor, does it seem, will he care - and the fear and respect that such an attitude entails is all the more reason for him to carry on regardless. "He is hardly liked by the Australian cricket team - but that is because he is so good," wrote Justin Langer in his BBC column. "The less someone is liked by the Australians, the greater respect they are usually held in, and earned respect is worth all the gold in the world."
Pietersen has earned that respect, no question. His insanely brilliant 158 at The Oval in 2005 was the innings that set him up for life, in every sense of the word. It propelled him to fame while inuring him from criticism, and made possible the strokes of genius that have characterised his subsequent performances. England know they would have been sunk without his improvisatory brilliance on that final afternoon of the Ashes, and Australia know it too.
Which is why the notion of Pietersen leading England in their next assault on the Ashes is unquestionably unsettling to Australians. "I was amazed the selectors showed such gallant commitment to one of the most fearless, yet fearful, combatants currently playing international cricket," wrote Langer, while The Age offered up similar whistles of fair-dinkum admiration: "The appointment...was a calculated risk of the sort Australia was not willing to take with Shane Warne."
| He is hardly liked by the Australian cricket team - but that is because he is so good. The less someone is liked by the Australians, the greater respect they are usually held in, and earned respect is worth all the gold in the world.Justin Langer on Pietersen | |||
The clear consensus from down under is that England have picked the right man for the challenge, even if those closer to home are more concerned with how Pietersen will first cope with the arduous conditions of a tour to India. A two-Test drubbing in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, however, will prove almost as little as the one-Test victory that Pietersen has already presided over. The man himself knows the contest by which his tenure will be judged, and for once, to their credit, so too do the selectors.
If there was one thing that condemned England to humiliation in their last Ashes campaign, it was the leadership vacuum caused, first, by Michael Vaughan's absence, and then by the sketchy terms of Andrew Flintoff's appointment. If the rationale is to be believed, Flintoff was chosen primarily because he could be relied upon to get the best out of Steve Harmison, the one man who mattered more to England's prospects than any other. What happened next has hung over Harmison's career ever since.
Until, perhaps, now. Pietersen demanded Harmison in his maiden England team, he threw him the new ball for the first time in more than a year, then backed him publicly, privately and everywhere in between. His faith was rewarded with arguably the most joyful performance of Harmison's enigmatic career. While much of the improvement was put down to the 500-plus overs that he had spent this summer bowling for Durham, the man himself credited the performance on a far less tangible factor. The chance to get on with his job away from the glare of the spotlight.
Where is the spotlight going to be next July? On the one man in the England side who is best equipped to cope with it, that's where. Harmison will be happy with such a scenario, so too Andrew Flintoff, who can go back to being the best allrounder in the world, and leave the decision-making to a man with less on his plate.
And what of Ian Bell, a man for whom the tide of public opinion is beginning to turn a little ugly? Is it any coincidence that his finest performance of the summer, his 199 at Lord's, came at the precise moment that the entire ground was preoccupied with the emotions of Pietersen's maiden Test innings against his former countrymen? It may never be in Bell's nature to seize the day, but if his captain is on hand to seize it for him, there are few men better equipped to play Robin to Batman.
All of that, however, is for another day. In the meantime, there is a genuine world title bout to be looking forward to. Smith's South Africa, ranked No. 2 in the world, head for Australia in December, boasting a recent series record of seven wins and a draw. And yet, Pietersen's personal record against the men who would be kings is, like his attitude, 100% positive. It's little wonder Harmison is smiling again.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo
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Andrew Miller
Andrew Miller was saved from a life of drudgery in the City when his car caught fire on the way to an interview. He took this as a sign and fled to Pakistan where he witnessed England's historic victory in the twilight at Karachi (or thought he did, at any rate - it was too dark to tell). He then joined Wisden Online in 2001, and soon graduated from put-upon photocopier to a writer with a penchant for comment and cricket on the subcontinent. In addition to Pakistan, he has covered England tours in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007
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Andrew Miller,you make me laugh. Like a true Englishman,you are clutching at straws (sorry,Andrew Stauss?. To even think that the Aussies are perturbed by Kevin Piteresen becoming the Captain is laughable,to say the least.You forget easily (aren't you still licking your wounds?) that Ricky Pobnting and his Aussies pulverised the Poms 5 to nothing in The Ashes 2006 -07? And both your dream boys, Freddie (soon to be banished Fredalo) Flintoff and Kevin Pitersen were components in THAT Team? Stuart Clark summed up the Aussie feelings nicely. BRAVADO, he said,is what brash Kevin Pitersen, the one Test wonder,is up to. You also forget that were it not for his "friend" Shane Warne,supposedly a good fielder,dropping that sitter in the slips in the Oval Test, Australia would won that Test,and The Ashes. Kevin Pitersen, your tears may come earlier than Michael Vaughan's.
Posted by Ryanbrew on (August 15 2008, 21:00 PM GMT)Rooboy - lets get your facts straight. Though Clark may have slightly better average than Steyn his strike rate is well below that of Steyn. Here are the comparisons: Clark: Mtches - 18, wkts - 81, ave - 21.46, strike rate - 50, wickets taken per match 81/18=4.5, number of times he has taken 4 or more wickets in an innings - 7. Steyn: Mtches - 25, wkts - 128,ave - 22.51, strike rate - 37.4, wickets taken per match 128/25=5.12,number of times he has taken 4 or more wickets in an innings - 19. This points out that though Clark may be more economical in taking his wickets, he is not nearly the "STRIKE" bowler Steyn is. Here is another point for you to ponder. Aus only have 4 bowlers in the top 50, and one of those happens to be MacGill. SA have 6 (all of whom are currently playing)!!! Batsmen, Aus have 6 in the top 30, SA have 6! Does this mean SA will beat Aus at the end of the year? NO but it does look like it will be a closer series than we have seen in a while!
Posted by r1m2 on (August 15 2008, 17:18 PM GMT)Sounds like someone's in love with KP. This English team is set for a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the Aussies. The team that KP thinks can beat Australia, to me looks good enough to beat only Zimbabwe, Kenya and maybe Bangladesh in a tests series. The only bowler in the team who's averaging below 30 runs per wicket, may not be good enough after all. Harmison, Anderson, Hoggard despite playing for long enough time, averages well into the 30s, with strike rates of less than 4 wickets per match and more than 55 balls per wicket. The balls per wicket strike rate for Hoggard is okay for the type of bowler he is. It is not okay for Harmison and Anderson. If you need further clarification, check out how the lot actually performs against the Aus. To me ONLY English bowler who have shown to be able to take wickets against Aus, are SP Jones and Flintoff. However Flintoff is an all rounder and should not be thought of as main strike bowler. The picture is grim, if you take emotion out of it.
Posted by Dilanjith44 on (August 15 2008, 13:50 PM GMT)Man england have just won a dead rubber agaist a SA side who wrapped it up before the match and played it as no matter what!!!!so pietersen and england can't be over the moon!!!!yes it was the first match as captain,but it ws a game that had no bearing on the series!!!!.....so england should do well to concentrate on their next assignments in order to triumph in 2009!!!..KP wil be tested in the tour of india!!!!conditions will be gruelling!!!!!and a two test series against Sri lanka early next summer wil also give us an indication on how england are ready for the 'Ashes'!!!so i'd say to KP don't rush just wait for the next assignment and get ready and get your team done!!!certainly ambrose,strauss n bell need to be monitored!!!!but let's wait and see!!! My England XI 1.Cook 2.Vaughan 3.Shah 4.Pietersen 5.Collingwood 6.Flintoff 7.Read/Jones 8.sidebottom 9.Harmison 10.Anderson/S.Jones 11.Panesar
Posted by TheDoctor394 on (August 15 2008, 12:03 PM GMT)Rooboy, I wasn't saying Simon Jones is as good as Glen McGrath was. What I was saying is Australia lost McGrath, an important part of their attack. England lost Jones, an important part of their attack. These things happen to all teams, and for people to simply say that McGrath stepping on a ball is the sole reason England won the Ashes is ludicrous.
Posted by Rooboy on (August 15 2008, 05:46 AM GMT)*yawn* There was little reaction from down under regarding kp's comments because they are too ludicrous to warrant a reaction. As stated by some others here, it is common practice for the rest of the world to say how they are about to end Australia's dominance and how there are chinks in the armour etc etc etc. I have listened to such comments from parochial media, players, and fans ever since Mark Taylor retired, yet while Australia's dominance goes on (almost) unabated, they continue to tell us that Australia's end is nigh. I say to the rest of the world, BEAT AUSTRALIA AND THEN GLOAT, not the other way around. JackJ, you ask which Australian can match the SA bowling attack .. well, S. Clark actually has a better test average than any current S.African, but don't worry about facts. Didn't Clark destroy SA on debut? Do South African fans never learn? And TheDoctor394, the fact that you compare losing McGrath with losing Jones clearly indicates how little you know about the game!
Posted by redneck on (August 15 2008, 04:21 AM GMT)TheDoctor394 simply australia would have won in 05 if we had mcgrath! the third test if memory serves was won by england by 2 runs as one of the better number 11's im sure mcgrath would have made 2 more or shaved a couple of runs of the english attack with his line and length!!! and come on s.africa a better fast bowling attack than aus??? get real! head to head lee v steyn, morkel v johnston, clark v ntini makes for a gripping contest but brett lee has come of age and clark wiped the floor with south africa in south africa in 06! ntini is the only bowler that has played australia before and his record against aus is a mixed bag! still having said that it could come down to which team's spinner gets smashed least?
Posted by Sharath.Komarraju on (August 15 2008, 02:32 AM GMT)I agree with JackJ. I think South Africa will give Australia a tough time, judging by how much they struggled against India (let's face it, but for the farce that was Sydney, India matched Australia blow for blow last year), and the South African pace attack is much, much better than India's. Lack of a spinner won't trouble South Africa much this time around because Warne is no longer playing. As long as their batsmen come to the party, South Africa will be the new number 1 come new year (unless, Steyn twists his ankle on a cricket ball or something).
Posted by RNUSA on (August 15 2008, 02:28 AM GMT)This is totally an article of no significance. Somehow England's small victory inspite of a series defeat is no story to me. More so, the self professed importance of an English encounter especially the Ashes is sickening. People/ cricket lovers will care if the contest is good as it was in 2005 otherwise nobody else remembers ashes.
Posted by JB77 on (August 15 2008, 02:06 AM GMT)Agree totally with StaalBurgher....as an Aussie fan I've become tired of opposing test teams claiming the number one spot after a single test or series win. There seems to be an unrealistic expectation that the Australians must win everything, all of the time. The reaction from India last summer was particularly rediculous. All Aussie fans know our team is not invincible and only the most foolish would expect them to keep dominating world cricket as they have in the post-Warne/McGrath era. In reference to KP - I honestly don't think that the Aussies are too nervous about KP being captain. Why would the Aussies bother responding to his comments when the English media will surely take KP out for them. They'll hype their golden boy....until the wins stop coming and then he'll be torn to shreds. Note: The above article conforms to English cricket journalism standards as it mentions the 2005 Ashes and also uses the word "hubirs" at some point.