India bowled out for 223, South Africa only need 58 runs to win.
India bowled out for 223, South Africa only need 58 runs to win.
Can the chokers provide the ultimate choke?
Smith gave it a try there but managed to get his bat grounded in time.
South Africa win by ten wickets and win the series 1-0.
A bit ridiculous to lose a test match after being 190-1 at stumps day 1. But then again it's also ridiculous not to win a test match after setting a target of 480 with nearly 2 days to bowl the opposition out.
Still, plenty of positives for India. A very high quality series. Great watch.
KP's England career is nearly done.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/26040475
The thing is, I can understand that they would want to do things to move on and how he must be difficult to work with but he's not the only one that should be getting this treatment.
England management is an oxymoron.Originally Posted by McNamara That Ghost...
KP's England career is nearly done.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/26040475
The thing is, I can understand that they would want to do things to move on and how he must be difficult to work with but he's not the only one that should be getting this treatment.
Noone's saying KP is easy, but he's (was) by far the most talented cricketer in the England team, and the fact that they haven't been able to manage him properly tells you all you need to know.
Putting the laughter back into manslaughter
I think too much is being made of this. No.4 is the best batting position for Test matches. If you aspire to be a top team, you want someone in that position who's going to average 50+ per innings. Pietersen was at that level before but in the last two years he has averaged 42. Which is not horrific but you want more. And if you're not going to get more, you might as well let a younger player get an opportunity.
A shame for cricket fans. Definitely a great batsman to watch.
From what I hear, though, his form dropped due to his frustration at the way he was treated. he's not captain material, but everything I have ever heard about him points to him being a winning obsessive. Maybe this is the real reason for his fallout with the team. Him being restricted to fielding on the boundary during the Ashes series points to him being marginalised. We're not exactly flush with senior players on form to dump a player who was the second least shit on tour. This smacks to me of vested interests rather than the benefits of a fresh start.
Putting the laughter back into manslaughter
Pietersen has been disruptive and problematic in the past. He's lucky they reintegrated him after the South Africa texts thing. To be honest, while I will feel his loss - an outstanding talent and exciting player to watch - I don't feel like I can argue with it. A scapegoat? Perhaps to an extent, but he's been a problem in that dressing room in the past. If they decide he's too much trouble to continue handling, then it's probably fair enough. It will make England's rebuilding more arduous in the short term, but hopefully it helps in the longer run.
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