Is Pietersen a gamble too far?

Is Kevin Pietersen the right choice to replace Michael Vaughan?

He is England's best player but there is still a strong case against his suitability for the role. He has almost no experience of captaincy, has been criticised for batting with a selfish streak and is the kind of flamboyant talent who has traditionally struggled with the job. As Mike Atherton points out, you need only look at similar characters such as Andrew Flintoff and Ian Botham for evidence of that.

That said, he hardly faced fierce competition for the position. Andrew Strauss was considered - and backed by a poll of Times readers  - but he has been inconsistent since reclaiming his England place. Alastair Cook was in contention yet, at 23, he was the youngest member of the side that lost the third Test to South Africa. Robert Key was also considered but he has not represented England for three years.

Was Pietersen, then, picked because he is the only player guaranteed a place in both England's Test and  limited-overs side? Will he succeed regardless? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.

Comments

[Vasco Ta Dec]

I WOULD LIKE TO give him a 50-50. He is selfish as a batsman,i do agree,but as a batsman.he has to be selfish to be rich in carrier stat,but you can not do same sort of things as a role of captain-this time chance of his being so is so limited.
But,i am not sure how good he will give his team with this role,because his personality neither matches to an aggressive captain nor to a thinker captain.I think he won't be something different in his new job that what England needs at this very particular time.
Next Ashes?Have to be something extraordinary if he really wants to win the piece.

[Offspinner]

England need a change of style as leader, to shake them up a bit. All the other contenders would have been Vaughan clones and perhaps would owe the job to the selectors, who knows if KP is the right man, but someone leading from the front is needed right now, and that fits KP's style of how to play.

[Andy L]

He will probably do a decent job, mainly because he isn't really English.

Ahhh, the hypocrisy.. whinging about English born Darren Pattison, who holds an English passport, but just happens to live in Australia, yet appointing a South African born and raised player as the next English captain.

As it was repeatedly said by the English media and former English players about Darren Pattison - 'aren't there any English players that can do the job.' The answer is in this case is an overwhelming and humiliating 'NO'.

[Phil Miles]

Looking forward to tomorrow.
Harmy is back, apparently it was KP's choice. Given that we've lost the series and that whatever happens it will simply be "KP's first match in charge" then I think he will do well. Not least because the SAs don't really care about this one. There is no pressure and we know how Harmy handles pressure.

I disagree with Freddie at six. When are they going to admit that he was once a talented all rounder but is now an excellent bowler. At best he's a number eight, but that's Broad's position. Ambrose at seven? Does it matter? He'll only be there for twenty minutes.

KP has said he wants to field five bowlers because we need to take 20 wickets. This is true but the way I see it is that we need three Glen McGraths and two Shane Warnes if were going to bowl them out for less than the batsmen typically get. Listen KP, Mr batsmen! IT'S THE BATSMEN'S FAULT. With this team the "real" batting stops at number five, at that's Collingwood! The possible exception to this is Broad who I would have put at six ahead of Freddy.

Anyway, it makes it more fun that the dead rubber it would have been without Vaughan's resignation.

[Tim S]

WHy is everyone having a go at KP? Is everyone just thick? He has an average of 50. That's the be-all and end-all, meaning comments about him being inconsistent are simply not backed up by fact. And he must feel so sorry for hitting 94 when in fact it was simple to go on and score 200....idiots. 280 was an easily defendable score,the bowlers came up short. He scored 94 runs, that's very very good, and Colly hit the same shot to get his 100, but all the hindsight junkies say he chose the right ball to do it - nonsense, they were both premeditated, one hit it right, the other didn't.
Infuriating stupidity, especially from Alec Stewart, who presided over such a successful era didn't he? Oh no wait, the 'dig in and score at 1 an over for a day' didn't work.

[Lee Denver]

KP isn't the issue or England's problem. Don't get me wrong, I don't much care for our England "World XI" being captained by a South African and I'm sad to see Vaughn's unedifying fall from grace but, whilst our county game's a mess & the selectors & coach are not up to the job, let's not turn on the one man who might actually give us something to cheer. So KP has the captaincy by default cos Freddie doesn't want it, Strauss is too inconsistent and Colly has gone from "mentally toughest cricketer" (to quote a handful of ex-pros) to a gibbering wreck - so what? I sincerely expect England to be a tougher, more aggressive and, let's face it, less bloody English team under him. At least we may win something...

[Karl White]

I think Pieterson will make a good Captain. Obviously we will know more when he has actually Captained some matches but it seems logical to have the most confident and most inspiring figure as captain. The real test for Pieterson will be if he can consistently balance contributing with the bat as well as with the management of a successful team. Ricky Ponting has proved it can be done but Austrailia have a number of players in their team that could be captain. Something England is lacking. Watch this space.

[Peter Jordan]

One can only wish Pieterson all the best, and hope that he brings to the
rest of the team some welcomed bite.
As a spectator I have long believed that bar a couple of players we always field a team of nice guys who end up back in the pavilion as successful failures. Cricket is not a game for the faint hearted, like any so called sport the strong nearly alway win, there is always room for the athlete with a brain, but a team that is mentally hard and has enough technique will win more than loose. So lets hope we are not going to be dealt anymore of this attitude of "Oh well we nearly won", having lost again.
We won't win every game but as a spectator it would be nice to believe we have a chance to, instead of after fifty overs and the star men back in the pavilion sitting on their arses . Play the game as though it was a war and your life depended on it, be bold but when necessary be circumspect.
This then maybe the start of some real pride, I am not bothered whether the team scores with perfectly executed cover drives etc, just show some guts, right down the order, miss hit every ball on your way to a hundred and become a legend, after all the team are supposed to be professionals so please act like it. Confidence breeds success, but arrogance is not called for. Whether Kevin is the man for the job who knows, time will tell, but to put out eleven men who are really up for it will make a difference, If a player is off form drop him, what is the point
in words like "Oh he is due a big innings so he plays". Play players that are at the top of their game this will give a wider experience to more players and do the game alot of good, in the long run and stop this club attitude that seems to prevail.

[Rodney Barker]

I feel deeply sorry for Vaughn, but angered that KP has been given the captaincy. He needs to concentrate on his good but inconsistent batting and the politics of the selectors stinks causing much distress to players and fans alike. This is a game of cricket not the X Factor.

[Chris]

Amazing PR work by the ECB and press! All this has done is make people forget that England lost to SA at home for the first time 40 odd years. Changing from an experienced captain to one with no track record is hardly going to make this situation better. Nuff said!

[Neil Griffin]

KP has got the job by default, he is the only one guaranteed a place in all teams. My beef is with Geoff 'Teflon' Miller. He is the England selector who picks Kolpak Pattinson for 1 game and make no mistake, he will never play again; who drops Collingwood for poor form, then after scoring 20 in a T20 game decides that his form has now returned and is reinstated. He drops Broad, who is averaging 40 odd and can bowl decently if not yet brilliantly, because he is tired and he then goes back to Notts to play a 4 day game. He keeps picking wicketkeepers who aren't that good with the gloves and don't score many runs. If the batsmen applied themselves to a situation, like the rest of the worlds middle orders, then we wouldn't have a sub-standard keeper to bolster a failing batting lineup. We search for a Gilchrist all the time and seem to think SA or Australians are the answer. Bring back Read, who will take nearly all the chances on offer. We still haven't bowled SA out twice yet. I know that people like Pattinson, Ambrose, Prior and KP can all legally play for England, but they aren't English. They are here only because they weren't good enough to play for the true countries. How many Aussies would want to play for England if they could play for Australia. None. The rugby team is the same with all these kiwis/samoans/ SA's etc playing for us. Maybe we should try picking some English players. If we win back the ashes with a 'world XI' will we be as happy as if the team was all English. Pick Flintoff as a bowler, not an all rounder. His form with the bat has been woeful since 2005. A true all rounder can hold down a spot in either discipline, like Kallis, but Flintoff would be dropped in he were a batsmen only. The team slection has been mixed whenever he isn't playing, in the belief the when he returns everything will be ok, but it won't. Any runs he scores down the order should be counted as a bonus. Finally, drop Panesar, his fielding and batting are a joke, his bowling has no variation at all and that is why he is failing to take wickets. Send him away to learn flight, guile, deception and variation and maybe we can live with the rest of his inadequate game. KP should be told to practice bowling more, after all, he was originally a spinner who could bat a bit.

[Grahame Thorne]

In NZ with the All Blacks and Australia with the baggy Greens they pick a side then a captain. the only time the AB's have done it the other way, Randell and Blackadder we stuffed up and the same with the Aussies but not since Hughes !!! England do it the other way!

[mlb]

Let's be honest, England won't play worse under KP than they have recently against SA. MV hasn't earned his place in the lineup in a long time, and there is no place for dead weight in modern cricket. Everyone needs to produce. All MV has done is recent matches is one beautiful cover drive and a walk back to the pavillion. That doesn't earn one a spot in the lineup, even if one is a creative captain.

Anyway, KP as a captain is an idea worth trying. Really, what other realistic option is there?

[Chris Butler]

KP. Me,me,me. He has played in a one day series and a Test series against his native country (which he seems to despise and everything in it) and been hammered in both. The SA side refer to him, with good reason, as The Ego. I do not think he is captain material either. England are welcome to him.

[Derek Grimshaw]

How can we have so many negative comments about kp without seeing him in a captains role? (and i don't mean just one game).that's the trouble with us english, thinking negative far too often and then when we lose it's well psychologically ok coz we was being negative anyway.well let me tell you it's not good enough and from now on being positive and aggressive WILL WIN us more games.

[Salv Barbato]

Twice this week Mike Atherton has described Pietersen as England's "match-winner". This is simply not true and I can't see how it is backed up by the facts. What makes his record anymore outstanding than our other batsmen? And, if anything, KP's thrown away more games than he's won. It's a myth.

[Kevin Venske]

Someone earlier mention two short planks and a computer! Well, I'm sorry to say that is spot on.

In South Africa the 'Kevin Pietersen' characters are a dime a dozen. All talk and false bravura, but no substance.

I can see the headlines now, (when it all comes to a sad end); "FAILED SOUTH AFRICAN FALLS SHORT ..."

I bet the Aussies are worried about the Ashes, NOT!

[Simon S]

I for one would like to wish KP the best of the British - but unfortunately I think he is going to need it.

As an ardent England supporter I am disappointed that the position hasn't gone to some one that has been groomed for the job for the last two years (think of Ponting to Waugh and Clark (M) to Ponting). Succession planning is paramount in business - but completly overlooked in English sport - look at the England rugby team since Johno hung up his boots. For me, Vaughan should have stuck at it and the selectors should have provided him with the man power to get the jopb done. All batsmen go through bad patches - and Vaughan would have been back on song by the winter.

All in all a bit of a shambles.

[joe shah]

Bet they appointed him to stop him going to the IPL seeing that as captain he now has to toe the line and set an example.

[Roy Pinney]

Pietersen was guaranteed the job once the selectors decided they wanted one captain for all three formats, and this appears to have been the only selection criterion. I wish Pietersen all the best this week and in the future, but rarely can the England captain have been chosen on such a flimsy pretext (not since Chris Cowdrey anyway).

In terms of temperament, tactical nous and captaincy experience, Strauss would have been by far a superior choice for the Test leadership. The Fletcher/Hussain and Fletcher/Vaughan combinations between 1999 and 2006 lifted England to second place in the world rankings...can't see the Moores/Pietersen combo doing the same. I might be more optimistic if we had someone less mediocre as coach - a shame we didn't snap up Tom Moody or (sadly) Bob Woolmer when we had the chance.

England also might help their cause if they started picking their best players...last night on TV I watched Owais Shah play an innings of real character and skill to single-handledly win the match for his side (not for the first itme this year), yet he will be nowhere near The Oval this week. Is Bopara really seen as an adequate replacement for Michael Vaughan, or more likley to score big runs than Shah, Key et al (Bopara's county avge for 2008 of 55.00 notwithstanding)? Likewise the brilliant James Foster is nowhere to be seen, with "Iron Gloves" Prior seemingly the only feasible replacement for Ambrose (note to Moores - you can go beyond your Sussex comfort zone for the keeper's spot, you know - and you could perhaps try asking your bowlers who they would prefer as keeper).

The Leeds selection fiasco showed the England selection process for the rudderless vessel that it is, and the choice of Pietersen as captain sadly appears to emphasize this.

[Richard]

Am I the only one in thinking that KP makes two short planks look like a computer? This probably helps his batting as he approaches everything with uncomplicated aggression but you wouldn’t want him setting fields on a flat track now would you?

[James Kobe Lee]

Why not success for the Team, success breeds success

[Aussie Jan]

Yeah - go Peterson, the poor poms really do want to be beaten again by all and sundry, including "our boys"!

[Richard harris]

I honestly don't follow much cricket as I am a football man first and foremost. But I believe either KP or Andrew Flintoff would be good for the team. Pietersen is a young passionate cricketer but again I fear the worst putting a man in charge who is only here on a technicality. We have had a foreign england manager for the football team and a south african cricket coach, I think we are fools for doing it again, but we shall have to see...

[Robert Foster]

The choice of KP as captain is a pointer to how far English cricket has regressed since the 2005 Ashes series. Don't get me wrong - KP's a great talent, but I fear the captaincy will leave him and the team in a weak position.