Hampshire snub ECB request
Hampshire have ignored a request from the England and Wales Cricket Board to allow Kevin Pietersen to play in the County Championship match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kent-c802 this weekend.
The ECB wanted the South African-born Englishman to play so he was able to get a little bit of practice in before England's summer test series against Pakistan.
However, Hampshire have rejected the request due to the fact that they have not been allowed to pick Pietersen at all for matches over the course of the last four years. The ECB often steps in to stop England players from playing for their counties so they can be fully fit for international games.
It's important to fully examine Hampshire's argument because there is no doubt that Pietersen is one of the best players in the world. It's also important to examine how not playing could affect Pietersen's game against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755.
Hampshire
Hampshire are quite within their own rights to reject any plea from an organisation that has stopped them from picking Pietersen in the past. There have been many important games where http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hampshire-c789 would have liked to pick Pietersen but have not been allowed to do so by the ECB.
The county have managed to cope without him for the best part of four years and there are officials who say that no player in the team should make way for him. This is because the current players in the team have worked hard to get to where they are and they should not have to give that up because of the ECB.
Hampshire cannot be criticised for not allowing Pietersen to play based on recent comments from the Englishman. Pietersen has said that being contracted to the county is unfortunate for him personally because of the geographical location of his family in London.
Hampshire chairman Ron Bransgrove said: "Once someone has said he doesn't want to play for you any more it is quite difficult to find a good reason to say 'in that case let's drop another player and play KP'. For me that didn't seem fair."
Preparation
There is a solid argument that Hampshire's stubbornness stands a good chance of denting Pietersen's preparation ahead of the tests against Pakistan. Pakistan are currently playing a series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and will be ready to face England in the near future.
Top class players thrive on form time spent out in the middle of a pitch. There is no better way for them to do this than to play for their counties but Hampshire have made this impossible in the case of Pietersen.
The chairman added: "We have never had any problems integrating KP on the day. He has always been very professional. As for feeling part of the club he has always missed that. It is not his fault. He was an England player before he was a Hampshire player so he sees his whole team ethic and home being the England dressing room so it is difficult to build up that club loyalty."
Betting advice
Pietersen will still be one of England's key players during the Test series against Pakistan. He's been in good form in limited overs cricket and the ECB will now be hoping that he can translate this form in to big hundreds in test matches.
However, there is no doubt that a lack of practice could mean he takes his time to get going. The best option would be to wait an innings to see how he plays in the hope that it's not the big hundred or double hundred, which is just around the corner.
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