In 2005 he was a revelation. He laid his claims to super stardom in SA and further cemented them against Australia in the Ashes. He was a hero and still is considered a hero by many English fans. Today he is going to lead his side against Proteas at Oval in the 4th test of the series. There is nothing to lose for England and every thing to gain. Dead rubber sets the perfect tone for the new captain to start his innings. Pietersen couldn't have asked for a better start to his captaincy career.
There is no doubt that Pietersen is a good player. He may even become a great with bat but is he the right material to lead England? Personally I thought Strauss would make the cut but then his place in the team is not secure. There is no other player who is experienced enough to take the mantle. Flintoff is out of the question due to his problems. Either one deserves to become captain or become one since there is no one better than him. In Pietersen's case I think it is the latter.
He has so far come across as a batsman obsessed with his own performance. Like Sachin Tendulkar Pietersen also carries this selfish tag. Can such a player be good enough to lead a side? Would he be able to get the best out of his team men? It's going to be a challenge for him and England. Vaughan was a good captain who become average after Fletcher left. In fact Vaughan / Fletcher partnership was a very good one for England. I consider Naseer Hussain to be a much better captain than Vaughan. In fact it was he who led the resurgence of English cricket in late 90's. Gooch commanded the respect and Brearley was a an exceptional captain.
It's not going to be easy for Pietersen. Will he be another Botham or will he fall among Atherton / Stewart types? Interesting times for English cricket.
I rate KP as good as Yuvraj Singh, or as bad as Yuv. Depends on how you view Yuvi.
ReplyDeleteAs far as captaincy is concerned, it has to go to KP. Whether it will come next to Alastair Cook remains to be seen.
I have no hopes for England under KP.
Looking forward to Cook at the helm.
He'll be attacking for sure. At least his halo promises to be so.
ReplyDeleteIt would be disappointing if he cannot give a new direction to English cricket.
Cook was supposed to be the captain in waiting but then ECB is not known to trust in youth.
ReplyDeleteWelcome SB. My problem with KP is, he is a natural talent like Kapil, Sachin etc. Often such gifted people fail to understand the efforts needed by ordinary mortals to raise their game and fight in the middle. This probably is one reason why both Kapil and Sachin turned out to be poor leaders. And Ganguly turned out to be India's best for the simple reason, he fought through the system and odds to become successful. However KP's innings has begun well. Proteas reeling.
C'mon SD...does Cook even captain his county? and he's justcementing his place. Just last year he was being shifted between opening and three.
ReplyDeleteBut then, SAF did the almost unthinkable - brought in a rookie youngster and made him skipper - why not England?
KP has acquitted himself well thus far. His players are responding and importantly, he knows how to use Monty (unlike MV who would hardly bowl him in a first innings) and also sets better fields for Monty (close-in on both sides raherthan MV's cursory loneclose-in somewhere in the vicinity of the bat). I gave him full marks for that.
i am game. pleaso open the blog and invite me. i am ready to give sone nutty comments.
ReplyDeleteSB
ReplyDeleteEven Dhoni is young and relatively inexperienced to become a captain. But then Cook's performance isn't great in the recent past and captaincy could have put him under more pressure.
Just checked today that you are back at tcwj. Will post shortly.
Dhoni is just lucky, that is all. Cook might prove to be luckier still, let us wait and see.
ReplyDeleteThere is something more to Dhoni's captaincy than mere luck. He trusts people and shows it. Whether natural or unnatural he always is a cool customer. Also he is an intutive captain (and this is where he generally is lucky with many of his decisions).
ReplyDeleteHis real test will be from hereon and when he takes the mantle of test captaincy.
Looks like it could come to him a lt earlier than expected...
ReplyDeleteDravid - Laxman partnership again? One last time?