All Hail King Pietersen!

I know, I’m quite late on commenting on this, but, the transformation in the side after KP took charge is quite hard to believe, yet, its something that I actually predicted in one of my earlier post.

For those of you who had doubted his ability, and felt that the win in the test and the 1st ODI was a fluke, the 2nd ODI must have served to dispel any doubts. I didn’t watch the match, but the commentary on cricinfo gave me a good idea of exactly what happened. To get a really good side like SA out for 83 on a good batting track really speakes volumes about the way Pietersen has motivated a side which has often lacked the ‘killer instinct’.

Pietersen comes across as a very instinctive captain, who makes bowling changes when his gut tells him that something special may happen, which is precisely how he got Smith (or Gibbs, not too sure) out in the first ODI by giving Samit Patel, an occasional spinner, a bowl.

The fact that Flntoff made a substantial score in the 1st ODI after a very long time also tells you much about how well Pietersen has done to motivate him.

His efforts on Steve Harmison shouldn’t also be forgotten. I had mentioned, in an earlier post, that the recall of Harmison was foolish, because the one – time England bowling coach, Allan Donald, said that nothing was wrong with his technique, just that he had a fear of bowling on the big stage. However, his announcement that he has come out of ODI retirement is a credit to Pietersen’s effort!

KUDOS to Pietersen, and I just sincerely hope that he doesn’t fall into the habit of picking ‘from the family’, like Vaughan used to!

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Can Pietersen change English cricket’s attitude to LOIs?

Well, well, I never actually expected to see KP in charge for at least another 4 – 5 years, so it’ll be a pleasant experience to see him lead the side out for the fourth test against his country of birth.

Michael Vaughan had to retire in unfortunate circumstances. I feel he deserves a whole blog post, so I won’t say anything more about him (the post will come only next week, as I’m really bogged down with office work) in this post.

However, Collingwood’s resignation was a big shock at first. I was gaping at my monitor when I saw Cricinfo’s main page saying that Colly also retired. He’s a really great guy, one of my all – time favourites (behind Lara, Warne, Symonds and Jayasuriya) because one of a handful of cricketers who can really make a big contribution in all 3 departments. But, you know, thinking deeply about it, I do realise that he hasn’t made much of a big contribution during his captaincy, and his record of 10 wins in 25 ODIs (and a big failure at the T20 world Cup) really tells you the reasoning behind his decision.

Now, coming to the man of the moment, Kevin Peter Pietersen! This guy could well be the person who can really give England the impetus in T20s and ODIs. Just look at it, he must be the most (perhaps only) brash and confrontational cricketer that is present in the England team, and he may be able to pass it on to his team – mates. As they say, the team copies the attitude of the captain, and with KP’s attitude, England may become one of the most successful limited over’s side captain that England may ever have.

As far as tests are concerned, this guy may be able to take it to the Aussies, and get the urn back from the Aussies, but this is only dependent on the batsmen and bowlers given to him. I just sincerely hope that he doesn’t pick only from the ‘family’ like Michael Vaughan used to.

So, I’m quivering, and I just can’t wait for the start of the next test on Thursday. Just as we thought the 4th test might be drab because it’s a dead rubber, KP’s appointment may just be the dose to make this test a one to watch!

Switch-hitting

A new topic of contention has come about in the form of switch-hitting, a practice started by a certain batsman named Kevin Pietersen. To the uninitiated, it involves changing your batting stance during the bowler’s run-up and change yourself from a right-hander to a left-hander, and vice versa. Doesn’t sound too problematic, does it?

In fact, I’m not too happy. I’m not trying to discourage innovation. Hats off to KP, but the fact is, the bowler is severely disadvantaged because he sets a field for the right-hander and ends up bowling to a left-hander, which disrupts his plan. Moreover, according to the rule-book, the bowler has to inform the ump if he’s gonna change his bowling hand, or if he’s gonna change from ‘around-the-wicket’ to ‘over-the-wicket’, but the batsman doesn’t have to, which makes the game even more slanted towards the batsman.

Dan Vettori suggests that, to even things out, the bowler should be allowed to bowl down both sides of the wide line

The MCC, after having a meeting, declared the shot to be legal, saying that the ‘super execution’ of the shot shouldn’t mask the amount of risk the batsman involves himself in, and the fact that the bowler’s chance of taking a wicket is greater!

Though I’m not too happy with the ruling, I’m pleased that the MCC acted swiftly in order to prevent any potential fuses being blown during the remainder of the series.