First of all, I have some bad news.
It is time to have an honest conversation about thelegglance. After Wednesday morning, with his blogging equivalent of a 355 not out under his belt with his post A Matter of Life And Trust, it was decided, unanimously, by the blog board, that he would no longer be retained by Being Outside Cricket. I cannot trust him not to overshadow me again, and he’s also upset my support staff, Armand the Rubber Duck, and my border collie (although I’ve not asked him yet, being in a different country and all that) and have decided that in the short term, Being Outside Cricket will move forward with a fresh and exciting skipper at the helm (me). HE IS NOT BANNED. DEFINITELY NOT. We’ll see, if he agrees to be utter crap in future, whether we can get that trust back. Until then, he can get on a plane to Dubai and write for The Full Toss for all I care. I just want the best for Being Outside Cricket, as long as they aren’t more talented than me.
Seriously, my thanks to Vian for the post. It meant I didn’t have to write much the same thing, but in a much less focused manner, and it was one of the best posts I’ve read anywhere. I’m biased, but as he knows, when we had that legendary Krusovice evening that I’d wanted him to come on board, and knew what an asset he’d be. He just better not do it too often!!!!
I thought I’d do a little bit on some of the side issues. I listened to the two podcasts on Tuesday night. The Switch Hit was interesting principally for David Hopps nailing the Alastair Cook issue. I hear many times that “no-one dislikes Cook” when there is a growing element that do. Hatred is too strong a word for me. When he said that the continued, repeated backing made Cook sound entitled, you could have heard the cheer from my mother-in-law’s kitchen. He got it. He actually got it. The rest of the podcast was a bit nondescript to me, missing a Butcher or a Dobell, and Jarrod went a bit OTT. But it got a damn sight nearer to the points we are making than most.
Then came the TMS podcast, weighing in at a brutal one hour and 45 minutes. At the end of it I felt thoroughly crushed. What the hell has happened to Phil Tufnell? He’s about as rebellious as Marks & Spencer. Is it too simple to ascribe his views to becoming a paid-up member of the Middlesex Mafia? “When I did wrong, at least I said sorry” he said. Phil Tufnell was a rebel who on his day, and I was there for one of them, was a brilliant bowler. He was a maverick. He didn’t seem to do well with authority. What possesses him to side against someone you would think was in his sort of field? I was surprised how willing he was to side with the authorities.
Jonathan Agnew was blaming it all on Graves. At the time Colin Graves reached out to KP, England were performing appallingly in the World Cup. Downton was a dead man walking. There, presumably, was no fixed thoughts on the way forward and who would be the new personnel. Moores was also probably a dead man walking, because I’m not 100% convinced this was a Strauss decision in its entirety, much as the KP one wasn’t either, in my view. He may have been too hasty, but lord, he thought he was dealing with adults, not children. Now he’s in a hell of a spot, probably, again as a mere “guess” because I don’t believe Giles Clarke is going to be a silent partner, but a very influential back seat driver (I must find where he was referenced in the decision making process) who has made sure, before he left that KP wasn’t getting back. (It wasn’t the book, I think, on that, but when KP listed who needed to go before he got back – Downton, Moores and Clarke). Agnew did admit that KP is entitled to feel let down, but that it was Graves’s promise, not Strauss’ nonsense that was the problem.
The other point that Jonathan made was one that’s really itching at me. He said that he speaks to other players in the team who feel that the support isn’t there for them from the fans. Instead of really focusing why, Jonathan seemed to be exhorting us to get behind the lads. I’ve heard the same from George Dobell, put in a slightly different way. The fact is that this is down, fairly and squarely to the ECB. I understand those people I see on Twitter who say the team matters more than any individual, and certainly more than any organisation. I understand, but I do not agree. I’m at an age where I’ve been taken the mickey out of enough by authorities to know they don’t care about me. If I disagree with them, I will tell them, and I will fight and get angry if needs be. The ECB couldn’t give a stuff whether I support them or not. They’ve shown that by their attitude to those of us “outside cricket”. Those who don’t care about that, fair enough. I think you are wrong not to.
The ECB sacked one of their best players in February 2014. They did not tell us why. They clearly believed over a short period of time we’d die down. They were wrong. They thought that a decent test series win against India would calm it down. They were wrong. They thought that the silent treatment of the book would mean the England community would turn against KP, but they were wrong. They thought that he might be permanently finished as a player on the basis of a poor T20 Blast season and a disappointing IPL. They were wrong. They have one hope left. That time will calm us down. 16 months on, and with the events of Tuesday, there’s absolutely no sign of that.
The Cook issue is for another post, but Jonathan ought to realise how much many of the angry brigade don’t like the way he’s been reinforced at every turn, and now, it seems, having a veto on selection. It’s hard to pull for a team, even with really exciting players like Buttler and Root, and really promising talent like Ballance, Stokes, Jordan and Moeen, when their positive results keep Cook in his position. I can’t betray my feelings, Jonathan. I really can’t.
Being Outside Cricket 
Must read this from Nick Hoult:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/kevinpietersen/11606944/England-door-still-open-for-Kevin-Pietersen.html
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Er…..have they ever seen the stick KP gets, and his wife directly, on Twitter, before all this took place. And I thought Cook wasn’t on it anyway. Risible.
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I didn’t know Cook had a family.
Oh wait, actually I remember now! It was “rammed” (sheep reference) down my throat time and again throughout last summer as Cook’s “performances” became more and more gobsmackingly poor.
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So in doing all this, they’re protecting a captain they may well sack in half a dozen tests’ time anyway? If they think Root isn’t ready (fair enough) is a stopgap like Bell or Anderson worse that this? They must really not rate those two as potential captains.
The implications for what they said on Tuesday aren’t exactly small either. “Well, we knew the version we were giving wasn’t exactly what happened – but that’s okay because we were protecting Cooky”. There are some not very pretty ways of describing that.
I’m highly sceptical of this ‘the door is still open’ line. John Etheridge has been saying all along their strategy has been to find a way to shut Pietersen up. They’ve also seen him putting bums on seats and getting the game column inches (or yards). This reeks of an attempt to string him along further to me. Telling them to do one would be an appropriate response.
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I seem to recall that a certain journalist was offensively rude to Jessica Pietersen on Twitter. Perhaps she cried. But she didn’t cry in public or when the media were looking, so obviously it doesn’t count.
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For all the abuse hurled by all and sundry at KP, including, but restriceted to Aggers (how BBC tolerate his public nonsense, is beyond me), Selvey, Newman, Pringle etc. Cook can’t forgive KP for the personal criticism in a book or on twitter? He hasn’t been given a fraction of ink that has been devoted to criticizing KP in MSM. And, KP hasn’t abused him on twitter. Criticism usually aimed at Cook is towards his batting and for being party to this nonsense we’ve witnessed for 18 months. He has his ECB friends to thank for this. And the buddies at MSM. Had Aggers / Selvey and the crew not been a bunch of bilious inadequates, pinning all that’s wrong in cricket to KP and his “foreign origins”, the fans may not have rallied behind KP as much as they have.
If anything, Cook should’ve gone and told the bosses, you bring him back, or i am going. but he got it the other way. Can’t he even read properly?
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Pietersen did write an article calling for Alastair Cook to step down last summer. Given the reaction Cook seems to have when he is questioned – see Swann in ODI cricket, Warne on TV, etc. – it would be no surprise to me if it was this that tipped the scales rather than a book where, to be fair, KP has a pop at people a lot more than Cook.
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To be fair I think Agnew’s attitude has changed somewhat since he and Pietersen worked together perfectly amicably on TMS during the World Cup. Isn’t Cook alleged to have had words with him about it in the West Indies?
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I think I might step in here, given that I saw Jonathan Agnew hosting a charity event last night at which the subject of KP was raised.
It will not surprise anyone to learn that he is lumping the blame for this fiasco on Colin Graves. He feels sorry for Andrew Strauss. Cook received no mention at all. Nor did Giles Clarke and nor did the other contributory factors in the disillusionment of fans on social media (which to be fair he at least acknowledged).
When asked “Why are we still talking about this?”, his off-the-cuff answer made no mention of Pietersen’s runs (this week or in history), his significance as a player, the unprecedented nature of his sacking, or the various disasters we called right and they called wrong over the last year or so. No, it was:
“We are still talking about this because of the bollock dropped by Colin Graves.”
Nothing about the phone calls between Pietersen and Graves either; nothing about the Telegraph article. Nothing that muddies the water or makes this more complicated. That said, he does feel Pietersen has been badly treated *this time*. Not, I don’t think, in a moral sense. Not, it seems, because of anything Strauss or Harrison said or did. Just because Colin Graves was an idiot. The comparison with text-gate was made repeatedly, and in a manner that brooked no argument, i.e. that it was scandalous, he deserved to be fired and – yes – Andy Flower was the hero of the hour when it came to re-integration. (The bizarre, very believable and rather humiliating Truth and Reconciliation Committee documented in Pietersen’s book is never mentioned anywhere in the MSM, is it?)
Finally he ran a straw poll using the fundamentally flawed question “Should Pietersen be back in the England side?” Before people put up their hands, he said that every time he asked this of “typical England fans” in the West Indies, the Yes vote was less than 10%. I put up my hand in protest at the question, which should of course be “Should Pietersen be available for selection?” About 45% of people voted Yes anyway.
There is more to say, but this gives you the gist.
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Aggers is saying Cook and his wife have never been on Twitter!!!
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He also seemed to think that having a password to a twitter account never meant you might use it, didn’t he?
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And Agnew says neither Cook nor his wife is on Twitter so how did this happen?
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it’s a corker.
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“It’s hard to pull for a team, even with really exciting players like Buttler and Root, and really promising talent like Ballance, Stokes, Jordan and Moeen, when their positive results keep Cook in his position.”
Unfortunately, I completely agree. I’ve supported England for 30 years, but can’t possibly support the ECB-Fauntleroy XII. I’m hoping for 0-7.
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Full details tomorrow because I am in a hotel without a laptop ot tablet and my battery is low. But here is the top line on Chris Broad.
Unprompted, he referred to Pietersen as a “cancerous individual”. The description was jarring to say the least. The event was, after all, raising money for a children’s hospice, and some 90 minutes earlier a lady had spent five minutes telling the audience the story of a teenage cancer victim.
Ten minutes later Chris repeated the word “cancerous”, to describe a cricketer who sent some bad text messages.
No-one mentioned apartheid.
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Chris Broad has always been a lose cannon and mouthy. It would seem that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree aye?
He (Chris Broad) was dropped ostensibly for a lack of form, but it was also widely viewed that the England management did not agree with his temperament – he famously knocked his stumps out of the ground after being bowled in the 1988 Sydney Bicentennial Test. He was fined the maximum permitted (£500) by the tour manager.
Broad was a member of the unofficial and controversial 1990 rebel tour to South Africa!
Oh how the hypocrisy rushes around like fleas on a dog.
Utterly disgusting to do this at such an occasion. No wonder Stuart has been labelled a bully.
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And, that’s the guy ICC uses as a match referee these days! So, if Broad Sr. Gooch and others could be forgiven their sins for touring apartheid era south africa (and this is way way above in list of sins for 20th century), they have balls to lecture / criticize KP on team spirit? What does that say of hypocrisy?
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I have always had a soft spot for the concept of the smell test. It’s not always accurate, but sometimes things just don’t pass the smell test. Last year the way Cook was treated by the media just didn’t smell right. Everyone could see he was making no progress as both batsman and captain. Yet the media eulogised everything he did. The Southampton test match was bizarre. The scratchy 95 was held up as akin to a Bradman double hundred. It stank to high heaven. We were told Cook was given a standing ovation just for making it to lunch. It was partly true. Though it took Maxie Allen to point out half the ground was empty.
What we are now learning about Cooks veto in the dressing room only confirms our suspicions. It appears, Cook gave a Me of him ultimatum to Strauss. Faced with the loss of the medias golden boy, and probably not playing well with many of the sponsors, Strauss caved into Cook. And Colin Graves caved into Strauss. So Cook now has veto power over the the new CEO, and the New Director of cricket. WOW, WOW. Power like that can go to people’s head. No wonder he was reported as chewing Agnews head off about his cosy chats with KP on the radio. How did he know? Was he listening?
Still, as the old saying goes, pride comes before a fall. His veto is now known by many people. And Cook has just jacked up all the pressure in the world on his next few test matches. Will it succeed or will it be a modern version of Custers last stand?
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As a fairly abstract West Indies supporter I have certain opinions of Chris Broad.
He is unfair.
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If you’d like to write something up as a review, I’d be happy to put it up as a guest post.
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By turning his back on English cricket and joining the rebel South African tour, Chris Broad allowed himself to be used as a tool to support apartheid. And he calls Pietersen “cancerous”? I think I finally understand what “chutzpah” means!
If Kevin Pietersen’s name must always be preceeded by the words “South-African born” (and apparently it must), then I suggest that the names of the Rebel tourists, including Gooch, Gatting and Broad, must be preceeded by “moral coward” or “apartheid supporter” or just plain “racist”.
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I was not at all well-disposed to him before the night started, put it that way. There was 1989/90, of course, and also this (and look at the identity of his fellow traveller, now firmly ensconced in MCC and the ECB):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2650000/newsid_2658900/2658959.stm
Honestly, to use that word twice was unbelievably crass. It wasn’t just me either; several people cringed both times. I was prepared for the word “toxic”, which we know certain people use quite often. But not that. What made it worse was his moral certainty (I know, I know) and complete absence of self-deprecation. Listening to someone like that moralise about Kevin Pietersen made me want to walk out of the room in protest.
Then, later on he was asked for an anecdote from his career, and told a brazenly hypocritical story about fining Glenn McGrath half his match fee for disputing an umpire’s decision. So, DLP, there’s another definition of “chutzpah” for your cricket dictionary!
LCL: I would quite like to do that, although there’s just as much (if not more) to say about Agnew, whose stance is far more pertinent. And by the time I get chance to put a long post together (late tonight, due to work, travel and a family birthday) the story may well have moved on.
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It disgusts me to this day that those rebel tourists were embraced to the bosom of the ECB and the ICC:: Add Gooch, Graveney and Gatting to the list. Then again I guess they’re natural bedfellows: venal conservatives.
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Re the apartheid tourists, the usual suspects would probably argue that you shouldn’t hold a mistake against people. Just before their brains explode under the pressure of their own hypocritical contortions.
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You should have got up and walked out Arron. Broad should know better after what happened to his wife. She died from a terrible illness (not cancer )
I,wish I could say I was surprised by this but I’m not. I’m afraid he, like his son has never stuck me as particulary bright, or indeed a man of fair play.
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Arron
If Agnew went along with that it would certainly show that he bends with the breeze never mind the wind. I’ll be very interested in the details! As for Broad, to use that word once in those circumstances is crass, to keep doing it shows unbelievable insensitivity.
As far as the cricketing aspect goes the hypocrisy is breathtaking for someone who was known as a loose canon in his playing day and took the apartheid rand
How ethical is it for an international match referee to describe a current player in that way? Just when you think none of this lot can sink any lower, one of manages to do it.
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I could not see Jonathan Agnew’s reaction as my view was obscured by a large pillar. However, I would be very surprised if he wasn’t deeply embarrassed by Broad’s use of that word. He certainly came nowhere close to repeating it or indeed using any loaded term.
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Did Agnew refer to Graves as a “clumsy northener”?
Amidst all his other guff, that particularly pearler from Selvey hasn’t attracted as much opprobrium as it deserves.
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This is Typical of the fake niceness of the whole ECB cabal. Look at the abusive terms Selvey dishes out to readers who disagree with him. Or Strauss use of the C word. They are very quick to talk about poor old Alice, but they are the real vicious ones.
I would like to see these comments of Broad get some traction in the media. They couldn’t wait to use KPs description of county pros as muppets. Not quite on the scale of calling someone a cancer. Shocking!
No doubt the usual suspects in the MSM will maintain radio silence.
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Arron
Thanks for that. I was thinking really of whether he went along with Broad’s view of Pietersen but you’ve answered that above. It seems he sways with the wind. He seems to be using Graves to avoid having to say something that will get him into a direct argument. Sad to say if he appeared at an event with Graves he’d change his tune then I fear
It’s probably what prevents him probing people he interviews.
As in “I don’t need to tell you Aggers”from Strauss and no “what about telling our listeners?”
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Among his other insights:
– Pietersen became the big ego in the team after the retirement of Flintoff, and there was no-one to rein him in
– Full Downton-plus on the “disengaged” issue, illustrated with “if you’re fielding out there and not going for a catch, this rubs off on the rest of the team and they can’t be bothered trying either”
– No player is bigger than the game; in a few years Pietersen will be forgotten and will be “just another stat in the book”
The last audience question, by the way, was on England’s treatment of Adil Rashid. Agnew said it was outrageous that Yorkshire asked for Rashid to be recalled. The whole tone of his response appeared to take no account of the number of tours Rashid has been on without ever being given a Test opportunity. However he did acknowledge that Yorkshire are entitled to be displeased about changes made to his bowling, and said he would have picked him for the first Test at least.
Broad made a comment suggesting that some people just can’t make the jump from county to international standard. This infuriated the questioner, who said he was talking “nonsense”, and asked how you could possibly know when they never pick him. Rather disappointingly, Agnew defused things by picking up on the questioner’s desire for Rashid to be released for Yorkshire, instead of dealing with Broad’s remark, and made a joke out of suggesting that the questioner was effectively arguing for 11-man tours.
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“His” in this case is Chris Broad, NOT Jonathan Agnew. I have tried to keep them in separate threads when talking about KP; have only combined them when talking about Rashid.
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This is how it is…exactly;- The ECB select Xl, led by the ECB’s representative on the field, will, this Summer “compete” against NZ and Australia….pardon me if I completely bloody switch off!!
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Strauss’ situation:
Cook doesn’t want KP and will quit if he’s selected. Strauss decides he doesn’t want that shitstorm.
Graves promised KP that he might be considered for recall based on merit
KP scores loads of runs.
Disgruntlement amongst fans that the team is not being selected on merit.
Solution 1.
Inform KP that he is still being considered for test selection, but middle order is settled and should a vacancy arise he’ll be considered along with the others in line. Offer him recall to One Day and T20 side.
Results:
Cook gets his way, and remains protected until he loses the captaincy. If he doesn’t because he won the Ashes (or drew them 2-2), KP’s claim for a spot becomes hugely weakened.
Your boss is not made to look like a liar, or a fool.
KP is happy
Public is pleased that sense seems to have prevailed.
Solution 2.
Inform KP that he wont play all summer. Offer him shitty token role, as a joke. Tell the public it’s about trust, without qualifying decision.
Results:
Nebulous “trust” explanation leads a trail of gingerbread crumbs leading back to Cook. You expose the very man you’re trying to protect.
You make your boss look like a liar and an idiot.
Piss off KP.
Inflame not only currently disgruntled fans, but a whole new massive tranche or people who were previously on your side.
The choice of solution 2 over solution 1 leads to only two possible explanations: Either that Strauss and Harrison are both monumentally stupid, or that they think the very people that they are trying to “openly and honestly” engage with have been lobotomised.
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Solution 3
Say to Cook “let me remind you who’s the boss here” and drop him for poor form and not putting the team first
Make KP captain for doing what the top man asked him and because he has some experience
Proclaim a New Era
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Excellent and rational evaluation of the options LJ.
Unfortunately, Cook (or Tantrum Boy as clivejw is now calling him) wanted Pietersen’s head on a pike.
Also, the bloke in photocopying at the ECB (or to give his ECB title ‘Man, Photocopying’) preferred Solution 1.
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Tantrum boy and of course blackmailer.
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Both (stupid and lobotomised).
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Nice summary there Lionel. It really is just like the end of the last Ashes. They could easily have dropped KP from the test side due to age/injury/form but retained him for the World 20/20, but they just had to act like a bunch of tossers.
Blame for the whitewash needed to be laid at the feet of someone who wasn’t the coach or the captain.
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Do have a look at Boycott’s twitter page. You can tell he is incensed to the limit. Mind one was rather wickedly funny.
BilyUsInAdEq @BilyUsInAdEq
Dear @GeoffreyBoycott can you lend us real cricket fans some rhubarb to stuff up the @ECB_cricket management and captains arses? – Thanks 😉
Geoffrey Boycott retweeted BilyUsInAdEq
I’d willingly give you a bucket load!
Made me laugh out loud.
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This’ll go down well…..
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KP would be a massive support on every sporting level for Root Buttler, Stokes especially. Cook is just a parasite on those guys. I see little or no evidence that they like him or are even mildly interested in him.
Bell has clearly only been dropped so that they have a better excuse for keeping Cook there — “unfair on Root to throw him into the deep end”. Well throw in Bell. He’s not a charismatic leader type, but he clearly has one quality that Cook lacks entirely — honesty.
They should have called Cook’s bluff. Or better, simply sacked him for being so uppity.
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Cook never seems to be a real person, somehow. It’s partly his looks, which have a computer-generated quality, but it’s also him Why do all those pictures of him on the farm have a slight flavour of the politician’s photo-op? Who is he when there’s no one else in the room?
Bell, on the other hand, is definitely real, in a smallish, gingerish, slightly toothy way that is all his own. You can imagine what’s he’s like away from the cricket bubble. He would be a good captain, all the players would know where they stood and that they would be dealt with honestly and they wouldn’t have to pay homage to him in order to be selected.
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PS Dmitri, I completely respect your decision about thelegglance, but I think it’s the wrong one.
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It’s a joke…
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Burly: mine too 🙂
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Oops
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The issue of fans getting behind the team is an interesting one. Like you Dimitri I have grown tired of the “get behind the players” war cry of club owners. A few years ago The chairman of The Premiership Mr Scudermore said ” I don’t call them fans, I call them customers.” When I heard this I thought be careful what you wish for. Customers don’t behve like fans.
Football clubs are deeply cynical in the way they alternate between wanting customers and fans. When things are going well,they just want customers because they want you to spend money buying overpriced tickets and merchandise. It’s only when the team is struggling that suddenly they talk of fans. “Get behind the players.Get behind the team” and when fans rebell by threatening to boycot they are accused of not being genuine fans.
Too often fans fall for this. If the fans of Newcastle want rid of Mike Ashley then think about Newcastle as your local supermarket. Don’t go if they piss you off. If 50 thousand Geordies don’t turn up for a few months Ashley will be out the door. Never mind what they say about paying fans not important. Sport has been very quick to align itself with the entertainment industry to justify higher ticket prices. Which is rather odd seeing as cricket is happy to drop their biggest box office star. Sport administrators are very cynical. So why should fans be any different?
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Charles Sale – an unreliable witness – quotes this…
Here was Dmitri’s advice, and it cost a lot less than those oxygen thieves:
https://dmitrihdwlia.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/
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Brill.
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apologies for a few typos. still stomping over the laptop. it’s cooked!
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I listened to the Tuffers and Vaughan show and also found it a bit weird. Tuffers seemed to be always defending the ECB line whereas Vaughan was more critical, and tried to explain a way that Pietersen might be involved in English cricket (20/20 first, perhaps ODI and tests only if things go pear shaped this summer. The issue of Tuffers rebellious nature was raised, but he just made joke of it. In not sure what motivated Tuffnell to behaviour this was, except to say that often the most interesting cricketers turn out to be the most boring individuals and visa versa (Boycott’s, for instance, commentaries on cricket being not at all like watching him bat).
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Incidentally, it seems likely that one of the ECB members who’s ‘livid’ at the way Strauss handled things, and perhaps also one of those commenting in Nick Hoult’s piece, would be Richard Thompson, Chairman of Surrey. I wonder who the other one is.
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*peeks head round corner*
Not all of you hate me, right?
The first half of the post made me laugh sufficiently loudly that I had to show it to some colleagues. Beautifully done.
Apart from me wondering how your wife about you listening to podcasts for a couple of hours while on holiday, I really do struggle to understand whether the likes of Jonathan Agnew really and truly believe this kind of line or whether he is pushing it as a kind of feeling that by doing so he is backing and helping cricket. I don’t for a second believe he is being deliberately mendacious about it, but I do wonder if there is an element of trying to convince himself.
The Nick Hoult article is fascinating. Really fascinating. It says to me that some of his sources have been board members of the ECB who aren’t the most obvious examples. His comments about the way the wind was blowing in previous weeks. And the suggestion in this article that they weren’t invited to approve the appointment and decisions, plus saying they are furious about it all makes me wonder whether that’s the case. No evidence, just idle speculation.
And with that, and after a long night, it’s time to head to my bed.
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excellent posts Dmitri (and that pesky legglance…)
Re: Agnew – he is really struggling to be remotely fair-minded, perhaps his Waitrose involvement has something to do with it?
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On the BBC 5 live podcast from Tuesday,when KPs column was read out on air claiming the England team had been given the green light to lose the Ashes with no consequences; Agnews response was priceless. He almost choked on his own disbelief. But he could not believe it was true. I believe it is true. If you don’t think it possible Jonathon, you haven’t been paying attention.
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I think Graves must’ve pulled up Agnew’s daffodils or something. Agnew has a bee in his bonnet with Graves over something. I think the KP thing is incidental.
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I have been feeling sorry for the younger players in the team – it’s not their fault that all this rubbish is going on and it’s certainly not fair on them if it means that the support isn’t there. But I also know that there are still people out there who loathe KP, many of whom will probably be at the matches this year, and supporting the team.
Also there is a big difference between expressing one’s loathing of the ECB and all their machinations on blogs and being at the game and in support. I was in Antigua and Grenada for the tests against the West Indies and there was certainly no lack of support on the ground, we were singing out hearts out. And that included people (like me) who are appalled at what’s going on in Cricket HQ but still want to see the team, especially the youngsters, doing well.
So I think it’s a shame if as Agnew said the team think they don’t have the support of the fans, I don’t think they need to worry during the summer. I would be surprised if the very devious goings-on at the ECB, and in the press for that matter, are on the radar of most people who go to cricket.
I read this stuff and think hell and the devil, I hope we lose in the summer but that’s a gut reaction. I don’t really want them to lose as I think it would do immense harm to the young players if they go through a real pasting. (I have huge admiration for Root for coming through the 13/14 winter as well as he did when the dressing room must have been a complete nightmare, especially for a young lad on his first tour of Australia. But don’t know if they all have that toughness). But I won’t be upset if Cooky has a ‘mare of a summer!
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This is part of the problem:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/11606034/Kevin-Pietersen-shows-Lords-the-new-world-by-running-rings-round-ECB-on-digital-battleground.html
They just don’t get it, do they? The ECB has a massive PR operation, Pietersen has himself and Piers Morgan.If ‘social media’ is ablaze it is not because of Pietersen and his PR campaign but because of deep seated and longstanding frustration with the ECB. Social media campaigns are often insurrectionary in character, bottom up protests speaking truth, or to put a postmodern spin on it truth(s) to power.
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No they don’t.
Establishing cause and effect relationships can be a challenge for some people, especially in the absence of introspection. We know where this lots belongs…
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One aspect that shows nothing changes at the ECB is the appointment of Joe Root as Vice Captain. I have nothing against Root but why do we always have to run the England cricket team like the Royal family? Why do we have to have an ECB hereditary model of captain?
The Vice captan becomes the Prince Charles of English cricket. Supposedly learning the ropes, but picked for their “soundness to ECB criteria.” Now it’s true that Ian Bell was made vice captain and that did not lead to the top job. However he was never really mentioned when young as the next in line to the throne. You get the feeling that lately there are so few options in the team Bell got it through a lack of alternatives.
Root is different. The dreaded reasons of right type of school and Family will be trotted out. Perhaps the top brass now think Cook is getting dangerously close to the exit door, so we must secure the succession quickly just in case the King falls over. Cant we just pick on merit? When a new captain is required just choose the best person for the job?
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Or even, you know, as South Africa have done, making it a job to apply for by players?
Amla was not “next in line”. He was not even the favorite to get the job, before the whole procedure started after Smith retired (AB de Villiers was). Admittedly Amla had been thought of highly as a future captain in first class cricket (and becoming a captain for his domestic team at 21), but his own international (vice)captaincy experiences were not an unequivocal success, as he himself admitted.
No one will think of him as an alpha man, but he has natural authority. And that works better than authority through throwing daggers (Cook), and relying on some overbearing headmaster to protect the class prefect.
I am not saying that Bell is similar to Amla. But I do think that Bell is severely underrated in the captaincy department by the ECB. Alternatively, if Cook fails again, bring in an established captain from the counties. England could do worse than find a spot for James Taylor.
Captaincy decisions in England are anything but meritocratic – at least in the 20th century understanding of the term, rather than an aristocratic one. Appearances are more important than actual competence.
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Agree Bell/Taylor… but the ECB will just screw up Root instead
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I predicted yesterday that Strauss never intended to have Gillespie as coach and won’t even bother calling him.
The Mirror continues the standard ECB policy of leak instead of press release:
The ECB’s new director of cricket faces a battle to recruit a top-class head coach to succeed Peter Moores, with No 1 contender Jason Gillespie known to be reluctant to take the role, chiefly because of England’s relentless schedule.
So the ECB is now leaking on behalf of Gillespie as well. And it’s suddenly the relentless schedule that Gillespie doesn’t like.
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I.e. Gillespie is lazy.
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Gillespie has a young family and his concerns about them are fair enough of course. Some of the players have young families and they seldom get given any consideration at all when the ECB is agreeing its ridiculous schedules.
It may well be true they aren’t serious about Gillespie. I find it hard to see why they wouldn’t split the Test and ODI roles if they want to attract him. Strauss isn’t against the idea in principle.
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Didn’t Strauss directly say that the split coaches idea didn’t work and wouldn’t be done this time? I thought that was one of the few definitive statements he made the other day, hence sticking in my head.
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Don’t recall him saying that but he might have done, of course.
He might have said it “hadn’t” worked which was certainly true under Flower and Giles. That might have something to do with one of the personalities involved!
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Can anyone remember (or find) if Strauss (or Harrison) was directly asked on Tuesday about Cook’s role in Pietersen’s non-return and how he replied? They did numerous sessions (TV, radio, press – which seems to have been broken into small groups) so there were lots of slightly different accounts flying around.
Strauss at least it appears gave a whole lot less than ‘the whole truth’ when he kept saying it was ‘a board decision’. Did it go any further than that?
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I recall something about Strauss saying he “hadn’t consulted Cook” about the decision. What is omitted or unasked of course is whether or not Cook said anything to *him* about it, or if anyone else consulted Cook, or if he knew Cook’s views already and so didn’t need to consult him, or whether or not he considered Cook’s views while making his decision.
Also no one asked about Giles Clarke’s views on the matter, nor if Clarke or Flower would ahve reacted to a hypothetical KP recall.
Just saw this on twitter — someone called “pommiebasher” is clearly more concerned about the welfare of English cricket than Strauss, and has a better understanding of the situation than Selvey and the rest of the yellow press have–
(Cook would quit if @KP24 came back? Hey @ECB_cricket, we don’t wanna tell you how to do your job, but… )
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Simon
I’m not absolutely sure but I think it was along the lines of “I haven’t spoken to Alistair Cook about it”
If Cook had already told the ECB whilst he was in WI that he wouldn’t play in the same team as Pietersen and Strauss was told this when he discussed his new job with the ECB, he wouldn’t have needed to speak to Cook about it, making what he said literally true but giving a totally false picture of the reality!
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I would love to have been a fly on the wall when Strauss was running through his preparations for the press conference.
” So when they ask you about Kevin what are you going to say?”
Strauss………. ” trust. Trust trust trust. Just keep repeating the word trust or a lack of. ”
” then what are you going to say.”
Strauss……”I’m going to tell them I offered him an advisory role in Englands ODI cricket.”
“Don’t you think that is rather hypocritical?”
Strauss…”why? don’t see the problem..”
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Well if Hoult is right, then the decision wasn’t the “board’s decision” because there was only two of them in the room: Graves and Clarke! Which seems to be why – it if its true and I think it may well be the truth — that members of the board are very angry that such a decision was made without their consent. Of course if the decision to appoint Strauss was also made by two or three of them then the board meeting may well be very lively indeed. Oh to be a fly on the wall.
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I’m surprised and disappointed that you didn’t at least offer thelegglance an advisory role?
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No, he will have to wait for his second sacking before he gets that privilege!
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And then it will be “adviser,Dmitri”
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Ha ha ha!
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Armand the rubber duck vetoed it.
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Giles Clarke’s tenure as ECB chairman officially ends today!
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Or does it?
It seems the cosy little deal between him and Graves is looking increasingly as nothing has really changed.
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I phrased it carefully (“officially”) 🙂
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I know!
The illusion of change.
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But Clarke is still a board member of the ECB. Time they got rid of him from cricket altogether. Disgusting moron!
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Why aren’t we hearing/expecting to hear anything from Graves on his inauguration day? – I’ve ‘politely’ asked some MSM, but no reply – nor from ECB, but hey, nothing new there
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integration day…..
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Hey that is a good one. The way Graves is going he might well be need some re-integration.
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11 minutes in, Tickner sums up the situation perfectly. Well done, sir!
soundcloud.com/geek-friends
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t
his…
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Who didn’t see this one coming?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/andrew-strauss-wants-paul-collingwood-5699906
Problem solved?
“He will not accept a full-time role in England’s backroom staff this summer and is not thought to be convinced about the head coach’s job either – especially as he is sympathetic towards his former team-mate Kevin Pietersen, who has been ditched by Strauss”.
Oh dear.
Anyone else?
“Sussex coach Mark Robinson, a former No 2 to the sacked Moores at county level, is also believed to be on the ECB’s radar”.
Good chap by all accounts and done a good job at Sussex – but seriously…..?
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Yeh, and the ECB also managed to leak to the Mirror the “fact” that is the heavy schedule that Gillespie is worried about, and not the insane clown act of a management that excludes certain players and nails on others without any discussion.
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This happened last time. They seem to be so sure that top international coaches will be gagging to work for the ECB and are then so amazed when mysteriously they don’t want anything to do with the job.
Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, the D,EC job is one of pure administration and is done by a nice accountant that nobody ever hears about, Gillespie is head/Test coach and Colly assistant coach with responsibility for ODIs, Bell captains the Test team, Root captains ODI and Pietersen captains T20 while being available for the occasional Test appearance. Cook is on his farm. Strauss is the newest Tory MP after a bye-election. Giles Clarke has left permanently for South America. Andy Flower has retired from cricket and runs a leadership and motivation training company. England win matches.
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One the top two jobs in world cricket don’t you know, ?
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“Collingwood has had coaching stints with England, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates and is a popular figure within the England dressing-room.”
Half of which (Buttler, Stokes, Jordan, Ballance, Root, Lyth, Wood, Moeen), never shared an England dressing room with Collingwood.
That is not to detract from the man. I appreciate Collingwood greatly. But, how can he be so popular in the England dressing room, when only Broad, Cook, Anderson and Bell are people who have played with him for England? And how come the views of these four are generalized to all players? Should it even be relevant?
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God forbid, if a whole lot of guys refuse, as is expected, and as decent men should, the ECB, D,EC and the Tantrum Boy, turn to AF to play the savior.
That would be calamitous.
Andy Flower. Mach 2.
Things can still get worse!
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Here we go again:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/32752558
Graves issues statement…..
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Rejects claim of “deceit”, but refuses to name himself a “liar”, over well, deceiving someone.
Memo to ECB: people are attending school, compulsory for 12+ years of their lives. They know the meaning of words. They can read. They can comprehend. Maybe, try to update your management to at least 19th century norms?
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Press release scheduled for noon and nearly an hour later…..
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Team bloody culture, give me a break.
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KP-gate: Waitrose suffers through association with English cricket’s vipers’ nest http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/damian-reilly/kpgate-waitrose-suffers-t_b_7282630.html
Mr Mark Price Managing Director, Emai: mark_price@waitrose.co.uk
🙂
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That is brilliant
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Terrific stuff.
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It’s a great piece. Blimey they are all in real big trouble. Well at least I hope so.
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http://www.cityam.com/215779/kp-could-sue-over-ecb-row-say-lawyers
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Dear KP – go and screw them for every Waitrose/Sky penny!
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To be honest, unless he recorded the phone calls with Graves, then he probably doesn’t have the evidence for a court case.
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In a legal sense, a tape recording looks like what it is going to come down to. Does KP have his unwashed blue Gap dress in the closet?
All the exciting players of this bright ‘new era’ must be taking the lesson not to talk to their employer without recording the conversation and having lawyers present. Which is nice.
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It is called trust. Simon. Strauss approves.
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From that article:
But Graves was speaking as the deputy chairman of the ECB, not as an outsider who had yet to take up a position within the organization.He was the deputy chairman being interviewed because he was due to become the chairman in a couple of month’s time, not as a private person.
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Absolute tit.
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twitter is his final resting place. the kenyan born troll.
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I might give it a microbe of house room if the muppet paid to get into a game.
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Bellend.
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In terms of not getting it, this sets some sort of record:
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According to Pam he was the only one any good at the Telegraph. You have to chuckle.
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Oh yeah, because governments never do anything wrong. People might beg to differ.
In fact, people differ with governments most of the time, no matter which party is running it..
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1) The Pietersen decision was wrong
2) Even if you think it was right, it was handled abysmally.
3) All the other stuff the ECB have done.
Apart from that, he pretty much hit the nail on the head.
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Pam is back me Lord. She’s been on DT today giving recos to her friends.
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She never went away.
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starting to strongly suspect that KP recorded at least one of his conversations with Graves.
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If True, that will bring a shit storm that the MSM trolls are going to love. Don’t think that serves much purpose except bringing Graves down. If he had a video of the strauss meeting, that might have been one to look forward to. 🙂
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Colin Graves also made no guarantees that he would buy Kevin a pony for his birthday.
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Makes sense. I mean, you would record it, wouldn’t you, knowing the organisation you’re dealing with? Also it’s possible that Sunrisers wanted some firm evidence before they released him from his contract.
Straight-talking bluff Yorkshireman reputation taking some knocks here. Sad, I had hopes of Graves.
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“Had they won in Barbados….”. Trumps “six inches of carry”.
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Nah. That was not even in the same league. The “six inches…” were precious because it was original.
This is someone just spinning tales from what we saw Bell speak and actually liked.
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So Graves has explained that he wasn’t lying. Good, so that’s all been cleared up then.
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Cop Out!
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Cop out indeed, trying to slither through a “no guarantees” loophole – does not wash.
Now his conversation is private because he does not want to be held to his words.
If Gillespie is stupid enough to take the coaching job on this basis he is welcome to it.
Looking forward to what Geoffrey will have to say!
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I am so looking forward to a wash out, so that Graves can do what he didn’t promise.
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has anyone got a clue as to what exactly graves has said? – all I can find is two lines of soundbites on BBC web
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check out the ecb website for his comments.
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Here –
http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/articles/ecb-chairman-colin-graves-comments-week
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Gets on his high horse immediately about his integrity – never a good sign.
Pietersen “wanted to contribute, whether as a player or not”. Implies he is the liar after he turned that consultant nonsense down.
“I didn’t make any promises. There were no guarantees that if he chose to exit his IPL contract, play County cricket and score runs he would be selected for England”. Stupendously disingenuous. What Graves said to the DT –
“What happened in the past is history and there is no point talking about it…. if he wants to play for England then he has to play for a county. That is his decision. If he does that and then comes out and scores a lot of runs they can’t ignore him I would have thought but that is up to him”. He then added, “Forget personalities. Selectors pick the best players in form, taking wickets and scoring runs. That is their job.”
Strauss based his case on Pietersen’s past and his personality – just what Graves said they would not do.
“When I took over as chairman I would back those people whose job it was to take decisions on team selection. I stand by that”.
You also said they would not ignore players scoring a lot of runs or the best players in form. That is exactly what they have done.
” Given the history and the book, the simple fact is that bridges have still not been rebuilt and trust needs to be restored”.
So suddenly there is a point in talking about history.
“Despite everything, he can work with us to re-build the relationship and make a further contribution to English cricket”.
Pathetic attempt to dangle a carrot so he shuts up.
No mention of DT story about Cook’s ultimatum of course.
I think I’ll go and read Pringle on Twitter for something that makes more sense.
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http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/15/colin-graves-kevin-pietersen-england
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Reads like a statement from the Chief Weasel to me.
And they do so want to pick his brains about T20… “he wanted to contribute, whether as a player or not.” and now we’ve offered him that and he turned it down, the ungrateful monster, but of course that might be a way to “re-build the relationship”. Talk about making someone an offer they can only refuse.
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Two-faced tosser – fits in with the rest of them (sorry for lowering the tone to ECB lengths – Dmitri/Vian)
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I’d have thought it was a pretty straight forward issue; “Mr Graves, did you or did you not use the phrase ‘clean slate’ in your discussions with Kevin Pietersen?”
If only one of those masquerading as cricket journalists in most of our MSM would ask that very direct question and press for a very direct answer.
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To be fair to our MSM chums, Graves needs to appear in front of them first. This was a press release – not a press conference.
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Disappointed in Colin Graves. Weasel words.
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Once again it’s a disaster entirely of their own making.
Strauss handled it appallingly presumably having had it rubber stamped by Graves and Harrison first.
Had they just not been so forthright in their exclusion whilst being so nebulous in providing reasons, none of this would have happened.
All Graves has done today is deny something everyone already knows he never promised Pietersen: the guarantee of being selected. That’s not the issue and any member of the press conflating this with the opportunity to be selected on merit alone should be ashamed of themselves.
He may as well have said that he also denies promising to buy him a pony for his birthday.
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Some have, and some will. Then they will accuse us of dealing in semantics. Way to tell something isn’t decisive and the definitive statement? When the press tell us that it is.
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But as has previously been said – it was no secret that Pietersen was giving up his Sunrisers contract. It was no secret he was going to Surrey. The ECB could at that point have made a public statement asserting Graves’s version of events. There was nothing to stop an ECB representative from contacting KP’s agent and saying “We must clarify that there are no guarantees”. That would show, y’know, integrity, the thing Mr Graves is getting prickly about.
But they didn’t do that. Either because KP had in fact been promised a clean slate, or because they wanted to see him put himself on the line and then fail.
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You’re quite right Lionel, they’re trying to make it look as if KP’s complaining that he was given a guarantee. But he’s never said that.
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Because that would be wrong. Only the England captain seems to have those.
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Simon Wilde appears to have bought it. Interesting that Nick Hoult had a brief word with me on DM this morning (it is here in the US). Nothing of consequence, but still, interesting.
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“It is very simple. What happened in the past is history and there is no point talking about it,”
“Forget personalities,” said Graves. “Selectors pick the best players in form, taking wickets and scoring runs. That is their job.”
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Taking into account trust, the feelings of the ECB admin staff and the captain. If the new Director, England Cricket thinks he’s a c***, well that too.
Was not what was said. Evidently.
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The Mail write -up is by Chris ‘Laughing’ Stocks, he of the “defiant 19” and Alastair Cook’s former ghost-writer. Fearing the worst? Most of it is just quoting Graves but the last two paragraphs –
“The statement from Graves conflicts with the version of events presented by Pietersen, who said: ‘I had two phone conversations with Colin Graves and he was crystal clear in saying I had to get a county, score runs and that there was a clean slate. Was I lied to by the chairman? Only he can answer that.’
He has done just that, in emphatic fashion”.
Emphatic. Emetic would be closer.
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But you know what. He hasn’t. He really hasn’t denied it. Has he denied the “clean slate” wording? Not at all. NOT AT ALL, and if Chris can’t see that, he’s not trying hard enough.
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Now would be a good time to release that recording with Graves. I know i said above that wasn’t going to be useful, but given as that wasn’t a commitment or guarantee to not release anything…
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” the simple fact is that bridges have still not been rebuilt and trust needs to be restored”.
Oh no, more f********g bridges! This organisation should go into permanent bridge building.
Like a bridge over troubled water……………
Classic bait and switch. Give the appearance of giving someone, KP a second chance. Then appoint someone else ( Strauss) who you know won’t give said person a second chance. Then pretend it’s nothing to do with me gov, take it up with the experts I appointed. Genius.
Move along, nothing to see hear!
Graves has decided that he will align himself with the Village elders of the media. Selvey, Agnew, Newman etc etc. Their pearl clutching routine has worked, and he has now given them a man in Srauss they can trust will give them exactly what they want. Same as it ever was.
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On a completely different topic, just heard on 5X commentary on Worcs v NZ that Ben Stokes was playing in the warm up football game that Durham had before starting their T20 match this evening but is not in the team? WTF??
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