Kevin Pietersen unable to find his form
England won against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 with a massive margin of 354 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham which was the second worst defeat in the history of cricket for the unpredictable’s. English players outplayed Pakistan in all departments of the game with a lot of comfort and ease. If there was any worry for the three lions, it was probably their out-of-form batsman Kevin Pietersen’s failure with the bat. Kevin only scored 9 and 22 runs in first test match as the player has taken part in 22 innings without scoring a century. The right-hander’s recent form has raised a number of questions on his selection in the national squad.
With Eoin Morgan, Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara in good form, chances are that Kevin might lose his place in the playing eleven, if his poor perform continues. Eoin was given a chance to prove himself in the test format of the game and he responded with a brilliant century to put England in a commanding position. Morgan has now cemented his place in test cricket with a superb century. Ian Bell is also likely to make a comeback, once he’s recovered from an ankle injury. However, things don’t look much rosy for English star batsman Kevin Pietersen. Selectors have shown a lot of patience and are hoping that he will regain his form sooner or later.
English Skipper Andrew Strauss has backed his veteran batsman and praised his second wicket knock of 22 runs, which in his opinion made things easy for the other batsmen who followed. "KP is fine," Strauss said. "He wasn't able to make a telling contribution in this game, although he batted better in the second innings and made a very important contribution because both him and Trott had to dig deep. The contributions maybe don't look all that good in terms of the figures they finished up the game with, but the first 30 over’s of every innings was very tough work for batting, and there were more contributions than just the guys who got the big runs."
Kevin entered this series without any domestic performances to his credit since his county club http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hampshire-c789 didn’t allowed him a place, following his comments that showed his intentions to leave the county club after the current season. KP has been under the media scanner for his poor form and his unwillingness to adjust to changing conditions.
Andrew Strauss believes that KP is a fighter and knows how to make a comeback. He works hard in nets and will once again play a big innings for England. He hoped that Kevin will find another domestic club in the coming season. Previously, Andrew had also shown his support for Kevin in Hampshire’s controversy. Strauss said that in the larger interest of the English cricket, clubs should adjust international players.
"We're all hopeful he does find a club for next season, because it's important for there to be that relationship between the counties and the England team, and that it's a healthy relationship. On the one hand, England players can go there to get form, on the other, those England players can pass on their experience to the younger guys in the county dressing room. That's how it works."
English test cricket revolves around the Ashes series which will start later this year. The series against Pakistan will be England’s last test series before Ashes and England will have to address their problems from now on. Almost everyone contributed in England’s last victory against Pakistan. James Anderson was the pick of the bowlers who bagged eleven wickets in first test match.
Ian Bell is hoping to get fit before the Ashes series and selectors are likely to face problems since Morgan is in immensely good form and cannot be dropped from the team. England was under a lot of pressure in the first innings but it was Eoin Morgan who came out to rescue England. He scored 130 runs which allowed Strauss and his men to post a decent first innings score of 354 runs. It was this crucial lead that pushed Pakistan on the back foot.
Andrew’s support will surely help Kevin in upcoming test matches, “KP has always been very clear in his mind what he needs to do practice-wise, and that's not changed on the back of him not getting a county game with Hampshire," he said. "He's done a lot of work with Gooch, and the most important thing is he feels well prepared. Not playing in that game hasn't made him feel less prepared.”
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