Kevin Pietersen and Tatenda Taibu - Reflecting on Cricket’s high-profile retirements in 2012 - Part 4 - Opinion
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806:
Perhaps, the biggest surprise of the year came when England star batsman, Kevin Pietersen, announced his retirement from all international limited-overs cricket, citing England’s unrelenting schedule as the reason.
He moved from his native South Africa after being left out on selection due to the quota system and as a protest; he moved to England where after the qualifying period, he made his debut against Zimbabwe in November 2004.
But it was in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 where Pietersen burst into ODI cricket with three centuries in only in his second series. He never looked back since then and raced away to equal the world record set by the great Viv Richards to reach 1000 runs in only his 21st ODI innings in 2005. The same year he was named ICC One-day player of the year after amassing 682 runs at an average of 56.83.
In April 2007, he rose to the top of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 ODI batsman rankings after scoring 444 at 55.50 and later that year helped his side reach the semi-final of the inaugural ICC World T20 Championship in South Africa.
In 2008, Pietersen became only the second overseas player (since http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 captain across all formats and led his team to a 4-0 routing of the Proteas in an ODI series. Two years later, the right-handed batsman helped his side to World Twenty20 glory - England’s first major limited-over trophy. He was declared Man of the Tournament.
His stint as England’s captain was however, controversially short as he fell out with then coach http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Surrey-c851 batsman however, remained a pivotal part of the quad which went onto win back to back Ashes before a recent change of heart forced him to relinquish the ODI format.
Pietersen further insisted on playing a full IPL season, a demand which did not go down well with the English hierarchy. The ECB were reluctant to allow one player to pick and chose one format and ultimately both parties parted ways.
The row further took a turn for worse during the recently concluded Investec series, where KP spoke publically about his differences with some of his team members, forcing ECB to put a question mark over his long term involvement with the Test side.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/T-Taibu-c2630:
Last month, another promising cricketer, Tatenda Taibu, announced his retirement at the prime of his career, the right-handed batsman, who is only 29, stated that he’s looking forward to serve the church.
"I just feel that my true calling now lies in doing the Lord's work," Taibu said, "and although I am fortunate and proud to have played for my country, the time has come for me to put my entire focus on that part of my life."
If there were a batting and bowling contest between David and Goliath, Tatenda Taibu would have perfectly fit the bill for David. Standing barely at five feet, Taibu was one of those players who would never relent against the sight of a tall fast bowler bowling at express pace - there was a reason that he was appointed as the youngest captain in the history, he was fearless.
After making his debut in 2001 at the age of 18, the right-handed batsman was always an automatic choice for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 eleven except for the occasions when he criticised his cricket board. In 2005, he resigned as captain and left his side following threats to his family, and moved to South Africa in 2006 in a search of making an international career. He however, moved back to his country a year later to play for his team.
Considered as a potential long-term captain, his outspoken nature, never won him any admirers in the cricket board, often slamming the board for their failure to promote cricket in the country and further holding them responsible for keeping Zimbabwe cricket in exile from international cricket for six years.
In 28 Test matches, the former captain scored 1546 runs at 30.31 with 62 dismissals behind the wickets and in 150 ODIs he managed 3393 runs at 29.25 with 147 dismissals.
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