Graeme Smith talks about Kevin Pietersen’s retirement row - Cricket News Update
Amidst fresh speculations over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GC-Smith-c1473 said that he would be ‘amazed’ if the English star batsman doesn’t miss playing limited-over cricket.
Pietersen had announced his retirement from all international limited-over cricket, citing the ‘unsustainable cricketing schedule’ as a reason for his decision, but the Proteas captain believes that his former countrymen might have taken a decision without
giving much consideration to its consequences.
The Proteas skipper was surprised that just when the former England captain started to look good in his old-aggressive self, he gave his career away. “It’s impossible to know what you’re giving up, and how hard it will hit you, until it’s gone,” http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Smith-c90598 said.
“One-day cricket has been a big part of his life and, right now, he thinks he can just walk away from it. Maybe he can. But I think he’ll quickly find there’s a big hole in his life which isn’t as easy to cope with as he may think.”
However, last week the 32-year-old English batsman took a u-turn and he talked about a conditional return to the English limited-overs squad to play for a few more years.
The English player, in a secret discussion with the English Cricket Board (ECB), wanted to make a comeback in the next month’s http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 Championship, but ECB has refused to lend any support unless the player makes an unconditional pledge.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, and being the hero for the national team in the 2010 edition of the event; his inclusion would certainly add flair to the batting department.
Smith believes that the former England captain is still fit enough to endure body-strain caused by playing too much cricket and it cannot be held as an excuse for retiring so young.
“He’s just turned 32, only a bit older than me. And I’ve had far more physical problems than him. But I reckon my best ODI form is ahead of me, not behind me,” the 31-year-old said.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 is in England to play a series including three-Tests, five-ODIs and three-T20Is, with the opening Test starting from July 19th at the Oval.
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