Sport360° view: England deserve better than Pietersen’s criticism

Jaideep Marar 11:38 29/06/2014
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  • Bad timing: "A two-match series is definitely not a fair ground to assess the team."

    It is difficult to keep Kevin Pietersen quiet on the field and, it appears, off it as well.

    The maverick batting star finds himself in the spotlight once again after penning a stinging post-mortem of the England squad following their 1-0 defeat against Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series.

    Much of the criticism is directed at the senior players for failing to shoulder the responsibilities and he believes they have yet to recover from the Ashes debacle suffered in Australia six months ago.

    Just like his cricketing career, his latest column in an English newspaper divides opinion. Pietersen comes across as a big critic of the current set-up and because he was ditched by England, his comments will always be viewed with scepticism.

    Deliberate or not, it looks like he takes every opportunity to stick the knife in. Pietersen was accused of not assisting the captain and lacking in his duties as a senior player during the Ashes fiasco.

    Ironically, he is using the same brush to paint a negative image of the seniors in the current side – Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Matt Prior.

    He talks about an “underlying current of unhappiness” carried over from the Ashes defeat leading to the seniors “struggling to offer leadership in the dressing room”. He goes on to add that the “youngsters are carrying some of the senior players at the moment”.

    So, is it a case of getting back at his detractors, who allegedly played a part in his axing or just a deep anguish of a committed English cricketer?

    It is all right to be a critic, but when you claim to be friends with most of the England senior players, then you should be looking to stand by them and offer words of encouragement when they are down.

    Like Pietersen, Alastair Cook, Broad, Anderson and Prior all had once been key to England’s rise as a World No1 Test team.It is just that now they are in the midst of a collective loss of form and it is hurting their progress.

    There is no denying the fact that England had the upper hand for most part of the series and failed to land the knockout blow but it was also because of the gallant display of the Sri Lankans and their inspirational captain Angelo Mathews.

    Amidst all this, everybody seems to forget that it was a riveting series that unfolded at Lord’s and Headingley and it was exciting until the last over of the match.

    The upshot of the series for England has been the emergence of a young brigade comprising Sam Robson, Gary Ballance, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan.

    A two-match series is definitely not a fair ground to assess a team that is in a rebuilding phase. The five-match Test series against India will provide a clear picture of the team’s abilities.

    With the youngsters brimming with confidence, it could also decide the future of the likes of Cook, Ian Bell, Broad and Anderson.

    In this context, Pietersen has been unfair, especially since he had been part of the same group six months ago, and understands the players and the system inside out.

    Indictment from an ‘outsider’ like Shane Warne will probably not hurt the England seniors as much as Pietersen’s criticisms will.

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