Pietersen and Trott

There has been much controversy surrounding the Anglo-South Africans, Pietersen and Trott in recent days and weeks, so as an England cricket observer, I feel obliged to weigh in with my own two cents worth.

Apparently Michael Vaughan feels "conned" by Trotty's admission that his retreat from Ashes duty last winter was a consequence of 'burn-out' and not depression as had been widely suggested amongst the chattering classes of the English media. Well, if Trott is suffering from fatigue and he makes the correct calculation that he is in no fit state to fight the good fight on behalf of Blighty, then that is his prerogative. There is absolutely nothing to gain from fielding a player whose heart is not in it. Besides, our very own Geoffrey opted out of test cricket in 1974, a decision that was equally scoffed at, but it seems futile to make demands on players and have expectations of them when they lose, perhaps temporarily, the will to compete. It is much better for all concerned if such an individual does leave the stage, enabling a well-motivated and thoroughly energized stand-in to take their place. To suggest that JT has pulled the wool over everyone's eyes is frankly a storm in a teacup. As a Yorkshireman, I would welcome with open arms Trott's re-admission to the first XI because, like the sulking Boycott before him, England are a harder team to beat when he is there than when he is not.

The same is overwhelmingly true of the disgracefully evicted Kevin Pietersen. It's no secret that the maverick KP was almost certainly the black sheep of the dressing room, but so what? Even allowing for his big girl's blouse histrionics, public spats with his superiors, and his alleged tantrums with colleagues, Kevin remained not just the most talented member of the batting line-up, but also its most prolific scorer. For the ECB to publicly announce that Kevin was no longer required was tantamount to a public sacking. Is Pietersen being scapegoated for England's abject failure in Australia, in spite of being the team's best batsman? Or could it be that Cook and company cannot cope with the disruptive distraction of Mr P? If so, then the captain is more impotent than many of us have feared.

Casting Kevin into outer darkness is such a boost to England's test rivals. One only had to observe the sheer elation from the fielding side when Kevin was dismissed. Here was the stark proof that the opposition were terrified of KP and that they prized his wicket more than anyone else's. In cricket, as in life, one should always do the polar opposite of what our adversaries want. England ludicrously have indulged their rivals by jettisoning their most dangerous batsman.

Ultimately KP will shrug his shoulders at this temporary setback and milk the cow by playing in the IPL and exploiting the fact that he is still a box office draw. England may have ditched the square peg, but it will be quite some time before a replacement of the game-changing calibre of Pietersen is located. It would have been so much more dignified to wait until Kevin fell on his own sword, as it was only a matter of time before the batting superstar left the stage for lesser mortals to inhabit instead.