Those crazy Pietersen boys

Scoop of the day (1): Bryan Pietersen blags free football off his more famous cricketing brother. Asked at the launch of the new adidas-designed England kit if he had yet subscribed to Setanta so that he could watch the Indian Premier League on TV, Kevin Pietersen said: "Actually, my brother subscribed to it two weeks ago in my house, using my bank card, because he wanted to watch Chelsea playing football." To be fair, I'm assuming it was Bryan, who has played a bit of second XI cricket over here, who did the dirty; if it was his other brother, Tony, that would almost be a scandal as TP is a church minister.

Scoop of the day (2): Pietersen was modelling the new collarless red England Twenty20 kit, which looks a bit like the 2005 Lions rugby shirt and fits the body better than the old one and will hopefully mean he stops doing that irritating pick-at-the-sleeve thing while he's batting. But the player who caused the loudest gasps at Lord's today was Ryan Sidebottom, who strode out wearing the new Test kit. Not only are the cricket whites "brilliant white" for the first time - as opposed to grubby white or cream - but the new England sweater is not made of cable-knit wool, but instead some man-made fabric that leaches the sweat to the surface. "It's very, very white, a lot whiter than before," was Pietersen's view on the new kit, while he described the new wool-free sweater as "very interesting". A career in fashion journalism awaits.

Incidentally, your blogger hasn't subscribed to Setanta to watch the IPL, which starts tomorrow. I'm sure it will be exciting enough, but it clashes with Murder She Wrote.

Comments

[Ceci Masters]

Much debate on the Surrey/Lancs commentary today on the vexed question of the replacement of the beloved cable knit monstrosities so beloved of cricketers - most of the other changes in outfit seem to be accepted ..... but not the sweater....

[Miriam]

but are they Brilliant?

[King Cricket]

So England's cricketers really ARE whiter than white.