'Pietersen lacked the qualities of a Test captain'
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
AFP
Simon Wilde, writing in the The Sunday Times, feels the captain-coach saga was a consequence of Kevin Pietersen's own misjudgment of the feelings of his team-mates - a reflection of his failure to live up to the skills required of a captain.
His talks with an Indian Premier League franchise aroused suspicions about his motives for returning to India after the terror attacks. And his decision to continue with a holiday in Africa while the captaincy crisis escalated — even after his wife, Jessica Taylor, had returned to Britain to appear in Dancing on Ice — suggested a careless regard for his position.
Pietersen is a brilliant cricketer, but his celebrity, and his love of that celebrity, was always going to be his downfall because it led him to believe that his wants, rather than others' needs, would always be paramount. Rachel Cooke in the Guardian believes that celebrity culture has had such a massive impact on the way we think about work - and cricket is work for those who play it professionally - that even the ECB, so opaque and old-fashionedly cackhanded in its processes, is apt to do its bidding. Don't choose the best person for the job, choose the best known.
Also in the Sunday Times, David Gower, although agreeing with the appointment of Andrew Strauss as captain, feels exceptional players like Kevin Pietersen need to be given more leeway to completely live up to their talent.
Dealing with a Pietersen-type character is never going to be entirely straightforward. There are immense up sides to having such a man in your team; when you have the combination of his enormous talent and a similar determination to succeed you have a genuine superstar and natural match winner, a valuable asset. But the chances are he is going to do things differently to everyone else and that his way of doing things might not gel with the lesser mortals. There have been variations on this theme ever since the game began.
John Stern, writing in the same newspaper, feels that although Andrew Strauss has been appointed captain under adverse circumstances, it provides him a good opportunity to unite an England team affected by poor results and disharmony.
Far from being handed a hospital pass last week, Andrew Strauss, ironically, has the sort of power and influence that Kevin Pietersen apparently craved. Strauss believes that “the captain is ultimately responsible” and “I’m quite strong in my belief of how the team should be run”. But he adds: “In reality I’m a different character to KP in that I back myself to work with most people.” And, according to those who know Strauss well, he is not a man to throw his weight around.
Vic Marks agrees with Stern in his blog in the Observer: He feels Strauss is the right man to lead England and should have been captain after Michael Vaughan announced his resignation. He also thinks Tom Moody would make a good coach but convincing him to take over after Moores' departure may take time.
Ian Chappell thinks Australia will welcome the latest controversy to engulf English cricket as they attempt to get together a winning combination for their series in South Africa and subsequently, the Ashes. Read his article in the Sunday Telegraph.
Siddhartha Talya is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo