Kevin Pietersen at heart of Ashes war of words
The Ashes may still be about five weeks away but the psychological warfare has begun long before http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and England step onto the field to do battle for the precious urn.
And it’s a player who over the course of his career has been no stranger to being the centre of attention, in Kevin Pietersen, who is attracting much of the spotlight as the opposing captains seek to unsettle the other side ahead of the five Test series.
KP will arrive in Australia as proven match-winner in desperate need of some Test runs – his last triple-figure score coming in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 2009 – but has the confidence of his captain, Andrew Strauss.
“The question marks over his [Pietersen’s] form will remain until he gets a big score, but all of us who have been through bad form know it only takes one innings and things are right again,” Strauss has told Sky Sports News.
“When you’re talking about a player of KP’s class, it will happen. He will have an impact on the series, no doubt. These series bring the best out of him.”
That at least is what England will be hoping as they head down under, but even if the 30-year-old doesn’t fire on all cylinders in Australia, the visitors will be confident they’ve got the batting power in a settled line-up to cover for him with the likes of Strauss, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan all in their Ashes squad.
But while England might feel secure with their team’s batting prowess, Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been keen to burst their bubble.
It’s Ponting who this month told BBC radio that there is a “a big question mark” over Pietersen but Punter didn’t stop there, as he stated, “Alastair Cook is only just holding on to his spot by the skin of his teeth, [Paul] Collingwood’s probably not had the best Test summer of his life either.”
Though surely intended to get under the skin of the old enemy, there is substance in Ponting’s assertions: Pietersen was dropped after England’s Test series against Pakistan and headed back to county cricket to recapture his form and a century in the second innings against Pakistan at The Oval probably saved Cook from a similar fate after failing to make more than 29 in any of his Test innings on home soil during the summer.
Collingwood too was missing some of that familiar grit as he managed a measly total of eight runs in his final three innings of the series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 with a shoulder injury.
Australia though have their own problems, as their slide to fifth in the Test rankings after their 2-0 loss in their series against India on the subcontinent clearly indicates. The all-or-nothing Marcus North and the mediocre form of Michael Hussey are making for a shaky middle order at the moment and there have to be doubts about a bowling attack that has been plagued by injuries and which couldn’t complete the job after bring http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 to their knees at 8-124 chasing a 216-run victory target in the first Test in Mohali.
Pietersen then is just one of many who will be looking for improvement during the Ashes and while he’s no stranger to a war of words – think that infamous Twitter post regarding his dumping from the England squad this summer – it will only be with the bat that he either rewards the faith of his captain, or vindicates Ponting’s doubts.
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