Losing KP an enormous blow, but not fatal
England's most memorable success of the last four years, in the CB Series of 2006-07, came without Pietersen, and they might be secretly glad that they finally know where they stand, writes Rob Smyth in the Guardian .
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
England's most memorable success of the last four years, in the CB Series of 2006-07, came without Pietersen, and they might be secretly glad that they finally know where they stand, writes Rob Smyth in the Guardian.
Flintoff's injury is, however, obviously manageable, whereas Pietersen's was so bad that he could manage only a shockingly muted 100-ball 44 on Saturday, an innings that was as depressing as seeing a child prodigy who has gone to seed. That you would rather have a fit Pietersen in your team is so obvious as to make the first part of this sentence vaguely idiotic, and you know that were he fully fit he would have bent at least one of the five Tests to his will as Flintoff did on Monday.
In the same paper, Mike Selvey writes that KP's replacement in the series, Ian Bell, is his antithesis. Bell has seemed reluctant to lead from the front, and the Australians will look to exploit that weakness.
Flower and Andrew Strauss, the England captain, are realists and will quietly get on and play the hand they have been dealt. They more than anyone appreciate that they have lost a champion, but also know that adversity can unite. This is going to be a mighty scrap from here on in
In the Times, Michael Atherton writes that England can certainly win the Ashes without Pietersen. His form has been affected by his lack of mobility. Pietersen's running at Lord's, always eccentric, verged on the schizophrenic, his body unable to do his mind's bidding.
Watching Pietersen is usually a pleasure; at Lord's it was almost purgatory. This would have been partly down to the physical effects of his injury, the inability perhaps fully to push forward, but also the mental challenge needed to overcome the knowledge that something out of your control is inhibiting top-class performance.
In the same paper, Patrick Kidd offers nine possible replacements for Pietersen, from Mark Ramprakash to Eoin Morgan.
Ian Botham feels Pietersen is better off treating his injury sooner rather than later because it will prolong his career, and if he has to miss three Ashes Tests so that he can play in another three Ashes series then that's a fair swap. Read on in the Mirror.
Clearly losing a player of Kevin's calibre is a real blow for England and someone else will have to step up and score his runs. But I've got every confidence that someone will do just that. If we're honest Kevin has not really had much of an impact on this series and England have done pretty well with him hobbling around.
In the Independent, David Lloyd feels it's time for Ravi Bopara to drop down the order and hand his No.3 spot to Bell.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo