KP & Hampshire (Page 1 of 8)

I reckon he will cut his ties with County Cricket and just play for England and the IPL.

Pietersen joined Hampshire due to Shane Warne. Now that connection has gone, and as he plays such little club cricket and lives in London, what is the point of staying?

For that matter is there any point for Pietersen joining a county club at all. Is it necessary? Or do you have to belong to one, as a rule to be in the England squad?

I can see in 5 years, a number of England players not belonging to any club. As they play so little for them; the obsession with rest periods; and as the England fixtures increase, what is the point? If they are out of form and require some practice, there is always a Lions match.

The gulf between the England central contract squad and county cricket is too great today, to see any point or logic in the union. Once a player is given a full contract, the club waves goodbye to them. If Yardy and Wright continue to impress in the ODIs, then they may well be selected on a regular basis for the Test team. If that occurs, Sussex might as well rip up their contracts. I accept, the ECB pay their wages, but to repeat, Pietersen has played so little for Hampshire, some supporters have never seen him play for their county.

Obviously, if they are released from their central contract eg. Monty Panesar, then they can join a county again.

3rdman,

I wasn't suggesting Prior as he is a bit player compared to Broad, Anderson, Pietersen, Collingwood, Swann etc.. I am suggesting the core England players. There is no point in them being part of a county club - a complete waste of time.

I think KP has no real affinity for county cricket and one of the drawbacks of his South african background, as most of the england players have come through the ranks of juniors etc - i reckon he just doesnt get it!
Of the other players you list, most are happy to play county cricket from time to time and do - big exception is Colingwood who is always a reluctant recruit

Anderson was injured and didn't play in the World Cup T20. I follow his tweet and the overall feeling being, Jimmy had cabin fever at home; was bored out of his skull in the gym; and desperately needed to play some cricket just to hold on to his sanity.

So, he swans in to the Lancashire club pre and early season; plays a few games; says hello to his almost forgotten team-mates; and then b*ggers off again for the Tests against Bangladesh and the rest of the summer. When will he next play again for Lancs?

How must the Lancashire supporters and club feel? Pretty p*ssed off, I suspect. They only see Jimmy when he's either injured and then needs some recuperation; or the odd OD game, if there's a sufficient gap in the England fixture list and the ECB deem he requires some bowling practice. If not, "it's rest time, mate!"

The ECB are merely rubbing their autonomy all over the county clubs' face in a disrespectful and pompous manner; and the player, through not his intention, comes over like some spoilt and pampered rock star.

Meanwhile, the club must smile through gritted teeth; allow themselves to be walked all over by the ECB; while patting themselves on the back, as one of theirs dons an England shirt.

What's the point?

If an employee is assigned to a company, he/she is expected to work there. Not swan up for two weeks of the year.

It is another weird and wonderful quandary only found in cricket.

Last edited by softandfluffy (14-06-2010 17:01:45)

The ECB pay the salaries of the 'central contract players'. so that they do what they like

As I said in my post #12 the counties are not the employers the ECB is.

Why not sign him for us, he spends alot of his time round Piers Morgans house near Newick so the geography shouldn't be a problem 

My thoughts too. While Robbo has a reputation for rebuilding players who are "a bit broken", so Griz seems to be cornering a niche market for those who are broken, expensive and beyond repair. KP would be a perfect fit.

alicatt,

Thanks for that. I am pleased Anderson agrees with the views of club303, mine and others about how the ECB have run ramshod over this year's T20 tournament. And how this competition should remain sacrosanct, so that clubs can put out their strongest side; with no England fixtures getting in the way.

Also, delighted to read of Anderson's desire to play for Lancashire in the T20 and his frustration that he can't. But his hands are tied to the ECB. What can he do? I wonder how Yardy and Wright must feel as they leave Sussex in the midst of a winning run; knowing they could help the club retain the trophy; yet also knowing they will miss at least 8 crucial games. It must be a bitter sweet moment for both of them.

As for the ECB spokesman, what utter nonsense, in my view. It's all about greed and overkill. The World Cup is a pathetic excuse as a reason for the 5 ODIs against Australia. As I said in a previous post: Poor planning - Poor judgment - Poor thinking.

Last edited by softandfluffy (14-06-2010 22:36:07)

ECB nowadays = nothing but $$$. Truly they are Sky's servants.

As for these Lion's fixtures mid season, what an utter farce.

3rdman,

The ECB have so lost the plot this summer Re: The England fixture list in June, not even Hercule Poirot's 'little grey cells' can figure out what the hell is going on!

The idea of a Lions A/B side was a quick idea - I agree, perhaps, not a sensible one. Like others on this BB, what I want is the T20 tournament to be devoid of any England fixtures running ramshod over it. I want Sussex to retain the trophy; and they have a side to achieve this - but not if our best players are disappearing off to England ODIs and Lions matches.

I appreciate club303 has started a new thread just on this subject, so I won't pontificate here.