Trouble is, Pietersen's far too in love with himself to realise any of this.

Apart from the days given above?

I'm sorry, but I'm struggling to keep any faith in him at all. No doubt the next match he plays he'll blast a big score, but then, true to form, I've no doubt he'd be back to low scores again.

You can't keep carrying inconsistent players because you reckon they can win a match every now and then out of nothing.

Whats his average in Tests right now ?

I'd guess its at least 10 better than the second best.

To drop him would be total lunacy.

Im struggling to think of a game he has won out of nothing to be honest...I have absolutely no doubts at all that he's a hugely talented cricketer, probably the best batsman we have but there's got to be a point where you cant accommodate the player and his ego and all the baggage he brings...cricket is a team game and as far as bare statistics go we have declined as a team in the rankings since he came into the team...obviously this is not all down to him of course but I think it is a little telling

You'd guess wrong by a distance in that case.

Pietersen averages 51, Matt Prior averages 48.

Matt Prior with his how many tests ? Doesn't he possess 2 centuries of which both were against the Windies in approx 6 Test matches ? Pietersen has played every Test nation home and away with the exception of SA I believe and the minnows.

Not a fair comparison in any way, shape or form.

I have some sympathies with KP but also understand the shut up and get on with it point of view too.

He is our best batsmen though and he was treated shabbily during the whole captaincy debacle so in a way I can understand his moans.

England need to appoint a new coach as I don't think Flower is the man and then wipe the slate clean. Hopefully the new man can create unity and if he comes accross any trouble makers get rid of them regardless.

agree his stats for number of matches to 4000 test runs puts him in pretty good company [url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283179.htmllink[/url

That table is indicative of the increase in the volume of cricket played these days.

KP achieved 4000 test runs in 3 yrs 151 days, nobody else is within a year of that!!

Sir Jack Hobbs achieved 4000 test runs in 8 fewer innings than KP but it took him 15 years longer







No wonder the poor bain is tired

I'd have a lot more respect for him if he just came out and said 'I've fecked up. I've had a bad tour, but I'll keep contributing 100% for the team because thats what top cricketers do'

Instead he's come out with some disingenuous nonsense about being tired and then slagging off the number one batsman in the world. Problem is he knows he's undroppable, thats why he's so able to throw his weight around and get a coach sacked.

Hopefully we'll get a nice forceful new coach who cut him down to size but I doubt it.

What does Paul Collingwood do when he has a bad series? We all know he's had a few of those. He keeps his mouth shut, goes back to the nets and works hard on his game. And he always bounces back. He's not my favourite player but that is an example everyone can follow.

Only in England would we put Paul Collingwood up there as an example to follow over Kevin Pietersen.

Collingwood works hard with limited ability (barring his fielding), Pietersen is naturally one of, if not the, best batsmen in the world of cricket.

and has had at times legnthy bad runs - as did Bell.

to talk of dropping Pieterson is a joke to me - he has baggage, he should know he can't call all the shots with the ECB after his sacking from the captaincy - but he is top top class.

I really like Collingwood. He's a work horse.

I wish more England batsman would 'have a bad tour' every now and then considering KP has averaged 58 in the West Indies test series

Don't get me wrong, so do I. Hes an example as to what a player can achieve with limited ability.

Sorry I should have specified the ODI series.

He gets hammered for this because he is the sole player we rely on in the ODI.

Blame Pietersen because he hasn't got his customary century when the usual reality is that we haven't used the powerplays at all, haven't been aggressive at all, sometimes not even batted out the 50 overs and always haven't bowled with any level of competence.

England seem to genuinely think that James Anderson is an International class bowler. Frankly with this sort of mentality Pietersen could score double hundreds every innings and we'll still win nothing.

In that case then, yes he's been f***ing awful

....and whilst we're on it. Colly averaged 61 in the tests

Why do only players with limited ability have to work hard and keep their heads down? If Pietersen had Collingwood's attitude and work ethic imagine how good he could be.

Agreed.

Rather than averaging in the high 50s, he could average in the 60s or even 70s. The mind boggles really.

Another good point.

Yes, that's it. I disagree with you therefore I don't understand the game of cricket at all. Jesus wept.

Averages are all well and good, but they don't tell the whole story. The fact of the matter is that he's currently out of form, complaining about being tired and waffling on in the press about opposition batsmen rather than concentrating on getting his own performances back to scratch. I'm not advocating dropping him permanently, I'm not actually advocating dropping him from the Test side (why do people keep mentioning that, haven't they realised this argument, from me anyway, is based on the ODIs?!) I just think, for his own good and for ours, he should be told "fine, you're tired? Here, have a rest for a bit, we'll pick someone else, you go back home and work on your game for a bit." Then, when it seems like the time is right, bring him back in.

No one's bigger than the team. If he needs to be made an example of to ensure he picks himself up and, as has been said, works hard and becomes as good as he can be... Then surely, in the long run, it's worth it?

You said....

'You can't keep carrying inconsistent players because you reckon they can win a match every now and then out of nothing.'

Cricketing greats with bat and ball are generally judged on stats. Averages are part of these stats. By the very nature of the game of cricket every batsman and every bowler are inconsistent that is why averages are used.

I agree KP's performance in this particular ODI series has been poor by his own high standards. However he has batted 3 times so far this series scoring only 32 runs, should he hit an unbeaten 100 in the last game then his average for the series would then be at least 44.....