Kevin Pietersen’s form under Scanner
As England celebrates a comprehensive win in the first test of the four match series over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 certain quarters of the English media are concerned about the lack of form of one of the mainstays of the hosts batting line-up, Kevin Pietersen.
The stylish right-hander rated amongst the best in the business is undergoing a slump in from which continued during the win at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
The hero of the 2005 Ashes triumph failed in both the innings scoring only 9 and 22 runs respectively. In the first innings he played a Mohammad Asif delivery onto his stumps while Umar Gul sent him to the pavilion in the second innings as another inside edge landed in the gloves of Kamran Akmal.
Pietersen was in great deal of discomfort in both innings especially against his nemesis Mohammad Asif who continued his impressive knack of accounting for the right hander.
Despite the criticism the English captain Andrew Strauss is backing his mainstay to the core saying that he was bound to come good any time and that can easily happen in the second test that is set to start at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday.
Strauss feels that his star is eager to make an impression and will cash in big time whenever that happens "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 overs of every innings was very tough work for batting, and there were more contributions than just the guys who got the big runs."
Another concern for Kevin is that he is presently not employed by any county, and hence cannot take part in first class cricket and regain his touch by spending some time out in the middle of a competitive match.
He fell out of a contract with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hampshire-c789, and was not allowed to take the field by the management of the club since he had not shown any interest in staying at the club in recent months.
Strauss feels that not having a club is a concern for the star all-rounder, and he should try and address the issue immediately to ensure that he plays first class cricket in the local circuit either this year or next season.
"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."
Given his talent and ability the right hander who has scored 16 test hundreds for England is set to bounce back any time and the already troubled Pakistani line-up will be in more strife if he hits form during the course of the remaining three tests.
He averages almost 49 runs per innings, and has proven time and again that he remains pivotal to his team’s chances of success in all formats of the game. The mother of all test battles, the Ashes, is set to start later in the year in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and for England’s sake Kevin Pietersen should start scoring immediately.
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