Ashes 100-1: 78 Days Until the Ashes…

It’s been roughly 10 days since the spot fixing scandal broke and unsurprisingly it’s been the talk of all of the cricketing press. Despite such blanket coverage, two other issues seem to constantly make their way into the public eye, no matter the situation – 1) cricketers on Twitter and 2) Kevin Pietersen. And many times these two issues morph into one big issue. That’s what happened this week in what has now been described as that “KP infamous tweet”.

KP’s Effort…

Even Dimi Mascarenhas got in on the act in a tweeting blip calling Geoff Miller a “Prick” then subsequently speaking with the Guardian about the pitfalls of social media:

“I have learnt a great deal about the dangers of social networking sites and encourage other players to think carefully before signing up to them. I was out with a few mates, it got to the early hours and as you do, you think you’re invincible and I did something very stupid.”

Wise words but let’s get back to KP…

KP’s had a bit of a torrid time of late. Having fallen out with his latest county Hampshire – after previously falling out with Nottinghamshire – with no county side to play for, the last thing KP would have been expecting was the killer punch of being dropped from the England side for the 2 T20s and the upcoming ODIs. His temporary scratchy form cannot hide his permanent class that has led him to be considered England’s premier batsman in all three formats. He’s right to point out in his tweet in the heat of the moment that not too long ago he was the dominant force that ensured England emerged as T20 world champions.

This cricket writer feels that KP is right to feel aggrieved as the man of the tournament but a “fuck up” this was not. Rather than him seeing it as KP being dropped we might rather term his “strategic loan spell” with Surrey as a blessing in disguise. By playing the rest of the season for Surrey, KP has more to gain than those players in the England camp who have to put the events of the last 10 days to the back of their minds in the short format games against Pakistan. I’m of the belief that you cannot play yourself into test match form by playing T20s and ODIs. And with no tests in the schedule before the Ashes this just might prove a masterstroke from the England camp.

His ton on debut (116 runs off 105 balls) in a one day game already shows just how good a move this might be.

KP just needs some time in the middle which he’ll get as Surrey are currently playing in a county championship game at The Oval. He’ll certainly be more motivated to prove the England selectors and that “prick” Geoff Miller wrong than he would have been meandering along against Pakistan.

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