Playing the comeback kid
When Kevin Pietersen walks out to the wicket at Sabina Park, his first Test innings since being removed as England captain after five months, all eyes will be on him
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
AFP
When Kevin Pietersen walks out to the wicket at Sabina Park, his first Test innings since being removed as England captain after five months, all eyes will be on him. On most days, people watch Pietersen bat in the hope of seeing cricket elevated to new heights: a switch hit, or an electrifying century in 90 balls. Yet, in Jamaica, he will be trying out a new role: that of the comeback kid, writes Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail.
Never say never is the cliché and Pietersen has insisted he harbours ambitions to captain again, but unless there is a giant reversal in circumstances, it is fair to assume his moment to lead England has gone. Whatever he might achieve in cricket, above will always be a glass ceiling. Pietersen’s destiny is not to be a winning Ashes captain, like his ally Michael Vaughan, or to return from the Asian continent a victorious leader, like Nasser Hussain.
In the same paper, Nasser Hussain writes that he would have liked to play under Andrew Strauss, who is firm and solid - tough without being a bully.
Strauss has to push Flintoff and stand up to him, saying: 'Come on, I know you can walk into this side and I know you are just about to get IPL riches. 'I know you have run through a brick wall for every captain you've played under but if we are going to win the Ashes again, I need you to improve as a batsman at six.'
In his last two series against England, Shivnarine Chanderpaul has averaged 72.83 and an astonishing 148.67 - even the great Don Bradman could not match the latter over a single series. In the 2007 series in England, he averaged nearly 12 hours at the crease in total, scoring 448 mostly unspectacular, yet equally priceless runs. Therefore, England's biggest challenge in the Caribbean in the Test series will be penetrating fortress Chanderpaul, writes Pranav Soneji in BBC Sport.
The 34-year-old shares his name with the Hindu God Shiva, but their temperaments are polar opposites. Shiva is the destroyer, known for his untamed passion which leads him to extremes in behaviour; while Shiv is the creator, known to frustrate opponents with his crab-like stance as impenetrable as it is unique in tranquil and serene fashion. Yet Shiva the destroyer has had a profound effect on Shiv the creator.
Across three decades, West Indies cricket has gone from respect, to fright, to a short interlude of joy at England's ascendancy, to worrying about the future. In his blog on the Guardian website, Rob Bagchi relives the West Indian dominance during the 80s and shares with Colin Croft his fears over the future of his old team.
In the same paper, Andy Bull and Rob Smyth list six classic England v West Indies moments. Remember "those little pals of mine?"
Nishi Narayanan is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo