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Pietersen Tweets Tell Only What We Already Know

Matthew Wood — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:51:45 +0000

above: the now infamous KP tweet

The recent furore about Kevin Pietersen tweeting his disgust at being dropped for the oncoming one-day series says nothing more about Pietersen than what we already knew. What it does raise, however, is the burgeoning issue of appropriate use of social networking sites by cricketers, Twitter foremost among them.

The ECB has recently made moves to ban players from using the microblogging site, a move for control by a board unable to micromanage its playing staff as in days past. At the front of their minds must be the abusive tweet sent to a fan by paceman Tim Bresnan as well as Pietersen’s outraged update at being “rested”. Gone are the days of a simple five-minute radio interview at the end of a day’s play, now replaced by 24/7 access to the dressing room, which was long the most private area of any team’s domain. To that extent, several leagues have legislated to stop players tweeting during matches or about in-game incidents.

This northern summer, KP’s form has been patchy at best and he has stagnated as a batsman since the Moores crisis of early 2009. His batting, once powerful and expressive enough to command a place in any world cricket side, has reached the point where he’s now convinced – like Matthew Hayden in his career twilight – that domination of a bowling attack comes down only to an aggressive state of mind rather than the combination of footwork, attitude and hard graft.

Of course Pietersen’s antics shouldn’t come as a surprise. He has ample experience at dealing with traditional media sources and must have known his Twitterrage would be reported, yet he still posted the message. This adds proof to the theory that most professional athletes react differently to disappointment than the rest of us. As an exceedingly small group, they are feted and praised beyond all recognition simply for their hand-eye co-ordination and as a result a healthy world-view is hard to maintain. These abilities are so desired that the media and fans have created this elite status where a blind eye can be turned consciously to an athlete’s self-obsession, all because it’s in everyone’s best interest to see that athlete perform at their best.

If KP’s Twitterburst came from a normal person it would be seen as immature. But we can’t judge him in those terms because he’s not a normal person. At least he doesn’t consider himself normal because he’s been told that’s he’s special by everyone since age twelve. One only has to see his posture at the crease to gain insight into how Pietersen views himself. Like anyone who is told something repetitively, Kevin has come to believe that he is special and that special people get what they want, whether that be a spot in the team, superior treatment in restaurants or a chance to voice their opinion, no matter how alternative, misguided or clinically insane.

Making (and recovering from) mistakes combined with good old-fashioned repetition forms the bedrock of learning. When it comes to cricket, Pietersen’s talent has helped him make fewer mistakes than the norm. With a lack of negative reinforcement and only repetition – which in itself breeds obsession – from which to learn, could this be a key source of his skewed perspective? With a minimum of negative reinforcement, how could any of us have a well-adjusted world view?

How any player chooses to express himself is very much up to the individual. The proliferation of athletes regurgitating only cliche and optimism means it’s safe to expect only platitudes from the age-old combination of player and microphone. Adding fuel to the fire is very rare now – especially since the retirement of noted agitators McGrath and Warne – but whenever a player steps out of line via Twitter he should be as accountable for his words as he would be in any other public forum. Rather than a flat-ban, applying the simple “Would you say that to a microphone”? technique may be the best option. Social networking tools should be treated exactly the same as any other media outlet with anything published on these sites regarded as a public statement – vent, post, or blog at the player’s own risk like the rest of us – and if an employer can catch a truant employee via a Facebook update then the same rules must apply to athletes.

The ECB shouldn’t, and probably legally can’t, stop their cricketers from using these sites. Of pro athletes, the number of damaging tweets as a percentage of overall tweet numbers must be microscopic and rarely are any tweets revelatory. I mean, how often do you expect to hear a startling disclosure about anything in 140 characters or less? And combined with the unflappable boredom that makes up the current crop of world cricketers this issue suddenly becomes irrelevant. The domain of the pro athlete is no longer only the arena and has stretched into cyberspace: Twitter is an egotist’s (and their agent’s) wet dream because it allows everyone in the world free and unfettered access to “the brand”, in this case the most damaging batsman in world cricket today.

The domain of the pro athlete is no longer only the arena and has stretched into cyberspace: Twitter is an egotist’s (and their agent’s) wet dream because it allows everyone in the world free and unfettered access to “the brand”, in this case the most damaging batsman in world cricket today.

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One Hand One Bounce Cricket Podcast 09.09.10

Raf — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:38:15 +0000

Listen to the Cricket Podcast that Plays by Backyard Rules

World Cricket Watch has assembled a crackpot team in the desperate hope of creating the greatest cricket podcast on the web. Each week you’ll get a bizarre mix of cricketing oddness including cricket news, debates and discussions, weird and wonderful XIs, book readings, cricket betting tips and much, much more.

(09/9/10) In this week’s episode we take a look at this week’s match fixing fall out and preview the Australia India series with a very special international guest – Subash Jayaraman the brains behind The Cricket Couch.

Don’t miss a single episode of the One Hand One Bounce Podcast. Automatically get each new episode bysubscribing via iTunes or subscribing to the RSS feed.

Ashes 2010: Geoff Boycott’s Glorious Comeback in 1977

David Green — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 23:53:15 +0000

77 Days Until The Ashes…

David Green’s blog The Reverse Sweep is a cracking read. You can follow him on Twitter @TheReverseSweep.

For number 77 in our Ashes 100-1 countdown we go back to the 1977 series in England, which was played out against the background of the Packer affair, news of which broke as the tourists arrived. An Australian side beset by infighting and disharmony was beaten 3-1 by an England team captained by Mike Brearley, who had replaced Tony Grieg at the helm after the latter was sacked for his heavy involvement with Packer.

Other than Packer and the impending arrival of World Series Cricket, the two other notable aspects of the series was the test debut of a certain Ian Botham, who made an immediate impact taking a five for in his first match in the third test at Trent Bridge. Botham was to make an even bigger impression four years later – see 81 – Botham’s Ashes.

But for us (and certainly our father), the most memorable aspect of the 1977 series was the return of Geoff Boycott to the England side after a self-imposed three year hiatus. Boycott the player was pretty much the same as Boycott the commentator – difficult to work with, self-obsessed, did things his own way but at times brilliant.

He made his comeback at Trent Bridge and achieved the feat of batting on all five days of the match. In typical Boycott style, he made an inauspicious start running out local hero Derek Randall as England slipped to 82 for five. Then in a double hundred partnership with Alan Knott, Boycott scored 107 off 315 balls and then topped it off with an unbeaten 80 in the second innings as England won by seven wickets.

Even better was to follow in the next test match at Boycott’s home ground of Headingley where he reached the landmark of 100 first-class hundreds with a mammoth innings of 191. England won by an innings and the Ashes had been regained. The final test at The Oval was marred by rain and Boycott finished the series with 442 runs from five innings at a phenomenal average of 147.33. The Reverse Sweep’s father is still going on about it to this day.

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England vs Pakistan 2nd T20 Highlights

David Siddall — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:35:41 +0000

England 90 for 4 (Collingwood 21) beat Pakistan 89 (Bresnan 3-10) by six wickets

Pakistan post a feeble 89 and England knock them off will relative ease.

You can watch all the latest cricket highlights on World Cricket Watch.

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Ashes 2010: Was Kevin Pietersen Really Dropped?

David Siddall — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:57:54 +0000

Ashes 100-1: 78 Days Until the Ashes…

It’s been roughly 10 days since the spot fixing scandal broke and unsurprisingly it’s been the talk of all of the cricketing press. Despite such blanket coverage, two other issues seem to constantly make their way into the public eye, no matter the situation – 1) cricketers on Twitter and 2) Kevin Pietersen. And many times these two issues morph into one big issue. That’s what happened this week in what has now been described as that “KP infamous tweet”.

KP’s Effort…

Even Dimi Mascarenhas got in on the act in a tweeting blip calling Geoff Miller a “Prick” then subsequently speaking with the Guardian about the pitfalls of social media:

“I have learnt a great deal about the dangers of social networking sites and encourage other players to think carefully before signing up to them. I was out with a few mates, it got to the early hours and as you do, you think you’re invincible and I did something very stupid.”

Wise words but let’s get back to KP…

KP’s had a bit of a torrid time of late. Having fallen out with his latest county Hampshire – after previously falling out with Nottinghamshire – with no county side to play for, the last thing KP would have been expecting was the killer punch of being dropped from the England side for the 2 T20s and the upcoming ODIs. His temporary scratchy form cannot hide his permanent class that has led him to be considered England’s premier batsman in all three formats. He’s right to point out in his tweet in the heat of the moment that not too long ago he was the dominant force that ensured England emerged as T20 world champions.

This cricket writer feels that KP is right to feel aggrieved as the man of the tournament but a “fuck up” this was not. Rather than him seeing it as KP being dropped we might rather term his “strategic loan spell” with Surrey as a blessing in disguise. By playing the rest of the season for Surrey, KP has more to gain than those players in the England camp who have to put the events of the last 10 days to the back of their minds in the short format games against Pakistan. I’m of the belief that you cannot play yourself into test match form by playing T20s and ODIs. And with no tests in the schedule before the Ashes this just might prove a masterstroke from the England camp.

His ton on debut (116 runs off 105 balls) in a one day game already shows just how good a move this might be.

KP just needs some time in the middle which he’ll get as Surrey are currently playing in a county championship game at The Oval. He’ll certainly be more motivated to prove the England selectors and that “prick” Geoff Miller wrong than he would have been meandering along against Pakistan.

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Match Fixing Controversy: Accused players deserve humility

Blaise Murphet — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:19:36 +0000

Reports have come through today that England fast bowler Stuart Broad has expressed no sympathy for the Pakistani players who are alleged to be involved in the match-fixing scandal. Now, to a certain extent Broad is spot on, the thought of feeling any sympathy for cheating sportsmen is certainly hard to fathom. However, players such as Broad must understand that a certain sense of humility is helpful in such an awful situation.

Broad’s stance is certainly one that is backed by a firm logic. He has stated that players are made more than aware of the dangers of match-fixing, and this is certainly the case. However, all of us who are following this crisis must keep in mind the various factors that have influenced the players who have allegedly made these terrible errors in judgement. There have been comments from a variety of sources regarding the ridiculous pay difference between Pakistani players and the officials running the game in that country, not to mention other players around the world. Another element is also the rumours that players are forced to adhere to the betting agents under threat to themselves and their families. Finally, the age and inexperience of the players must be considered. Mohammed Amir, and to an extent Mohammed Asif and Salman Butt, are all relatively young men, from poor backgrounds, who have been pushed into a situation where the riches of the world are being put at their feet. None of this excuses their actions; it merely suggests that this is not a straightforward issue.

What Stuart Broad’s comments suggest is a lack of understanding of the intricacies of this situation. To simply position the players as undeserving of any sympathy is to ignore the multi-faceted nature of the problem. This is not a case of a couple of ‘bad eggs’, it is a systemic problem that has been brewing for decades, and has not been dealt with in any meaningful way. There should, of course, be a considerable amount of blame dealt out to the accused players, but at the same time we should remember that they are men caught in a much wider situation, and as such they should be treated with at least a small amount of genuine humility.

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Ashes 2010: Archie Jackson – The ‘Other Bradman’

David Green — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:10:29 +0000

above: Bradman, but did you know of the ‘other Bradman?’

Ashes 100-1: 79 Days Until The Ashes…

David Green’s blog The Reverse Sweep is a cracking read. You can follow him on Twitter @TheReverseSweep.

Donald Bradman made an inauspicious start to his test career at Brisbane during the first test of the 1928/29 Ashes series, managing only 18 and 1 as Australia were hammered by a still test record 675 runs. He was promptly dropped for the only time in his career for the next test, before returning and finishing the series with 468 runs at 66.85.

But Bradman wasn’t the young batsman lauded most by Australians at the time as they looked to rebuild a side that was in the process of being hammered 4-1 by A.P.F Chapman’s England side. That honour was bestowed on a man one year younger than Bradman – his New South Wales team mate Archie Jackson.

Jackson, who made his first-class debut for New South Wales at the age of 17, was often referred to as a second Victor Trumper for his grace, elegance and nimble footwork. The clamour for his elevation to the Australian side finally swayed the selectors in time for the fourth test of the series at Adelaide (see scorecard). Australia soon slipped to 19 for three, but nineteen year old Jackson stroked his way to an effortless 164, becoming the youngest player at the time to score a test century.

It seemed that Australia had found two young batting geniuses on which to rest its hopes for reclaiming the Ashes in England in the summer of 1930. Indeed, The Sydney Morning Herald gave Jackson primacy over Bradman calling the younger man “the greatest of present-day batsmen”. But Jackson’s story was about to take a very different direction to that of Bradman.

On that 1930 tour, Bradman had the most formidable test series of any player before or since, scoring a colossal 974 runs at 139.14, and in the days when touring sides actually played competitive first-class matches, he hit 2,960 runs at 98.66. Jackson though struggled with illness and bad form, but still showed glimpses of his talent with a century against Somerset.

That hundred helped force Jackson back into the side for the fifth and deciding test at The Oval (see scorecard). Here Jackson and Bradman combined in a partnership of 243, made against hostile bowling from Harold Larwood. Jackson, who ”took frequent shuddering blows to the body” made a battling 73 to Bradman’s 232 and Australia won by an innings to regain the Ashes.

But the bouts of illness became more frequent and after a poor series against West Indies, Jackson was dropped from the Australian side. It was to be his last first-class match as just prior to the start of the 1931/32 season, Jackson collapsed in his hotel room and coughed up blood .

Jackson continued to play grade cricket in Brisbane where he relocated as part of his convalescence and scored heavily, but running between the wickets was proving more and more difficult. Finally, with the test match that would see England regain the Ashes in the infamous 1932/33 series going on down the road at The Gabba, Jackson died of tuberculosis at the age of 23. His body went back on the same train as the English and Australian sides returning to Sydney for the final test.

We will never know that if blessed with good health, Jackson would have turned out to be a better batsman than Bradman, but it can be said with some certainty that he would have had a long and successful test career and been recognised as one of the great Australian batsmen.

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Ashes 2010: A Look at Keith Miller Ashes Legend

Raf — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:49:27 +0000

80 Days Until The Ashes…

Rafiq Copeland takes a look back at an Ashes legend who rivalled Bradman in many ways.

A few years ago now, I was sitting in an art history class looking at a slide of ‘The Footballer’ by Sydney Nolan. The lecturer mused out loud that the player in the painting must have been an imagined figure, as the red, yellow and black colours on his football jersey did not match any of the teams in the old Victorian Football League. I couldn’t resist putting my hand up. Actually those were the colours of the St Kilda Football Club before World War Two – they changed them when the German flag went out of fashion. Nolan was a St Kilda supporter and the player in the painting was not made up at all – he was Sydney Nolan’s favorite player, Keith Miller.

Keith Miller was a football hero, war hero, ladies’ man, man’s man and most of all a legendary cricketer. He is an icon of cricket – and his personality made him an icon outside of the game as well. He was the sort of man you get the feeling would have been a legend no matter what he turned his hand to. His nickname was ‘Nugget’ – the golden boy.

As a teenager in the 1930s Miller was a student at Melbourne High School where he was lucky enough to come into contact with the current Australian test captain Bob Woodfull. Cricket really was an amateur sport in those days and when Woodfull wasn’t touring England or playing Shefield Shield he made his living as a maths teacher. Woodfull apparently didn’t think much of Miller as a student – giving him zero in a geometry test which resulted in him repeating the year – but he did rate him as a cricketer. In 1936 Woodfull wrote in the school magazine that Miller had ‘test possibilities’. He was right.

After making both his Shefield Shield and Victorian Football League debuts in 1939 Miller looked to have a pretty bright future as an athlete – but of course the world had more serious activities in mind for young men in those brutal years. As a soldier Miller was typically troublesome. He repeatedly faced disciplinary hearings for insubordination – including threatening to punch his commanding officer. Once whilst returning from a flying a mission over Europe Miller broke formation, disappeared and arrived at the airbase late – apparently he had decided to fly home over Bonn because he wanted to see Beethoven’s birthplace. Nonetheless his RAAF career seems to have been well respected. Just to survive as an airman in those years is a testament to his character. Famously when interviewed years later by Michael Parkinson Miller answered a question about pressure on the cricket field by saying ‘pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse, playing cricket is not.’ It was in a makeshift Australian Services side that Miller made his debut against England at Lords in 1945 – he made a century.

Over the next few years Keith Miller would establish himself as one of the greatest allrounders ever to play the game. He made his Ashes (and Test) debut in Brisbane in 1946, scoring 79 in Australia’s single innings and taking 9 for 77 in the match. Miller finished his first Ashes series as Australia’s second highest run scorer (behind only Bradman) and second highest wicket taker – not a bad start. He played his cricket with typical abandon. There is a story that Miller once missed the beginning of an Ashes test match in England. When he eventually arrived at the ground just after play had started he was wearing a dinner suit and was still drunk from the night before. According to the story Miller changed into his whites, went out to bat and put in a man of the match performance. No wonder Bradman hated him.

The animosity between Bradman and Miller is famous – and made more so by the fact that they were stand out stars in that star-studded team known as The Invincibles. The two future members of the Australian team of the century were completely different in personality. Bradman’s intense competitiveness and social awkwardness contrasted with Miller’s almost lack of interest in winning and instant popularity with everyone he met. There is no prize for guessing which of the two is rumored to have had an affair with Princess Margret. Or who it was that admitted giving up his wicket early so as to make it to the nearby racetrack to place a bet. Or who showed up to a 1953 tour match in a hearse after hitching a lift to the ground. Once when he was captaining New South Wales, Keith Miller had his twelfth man dress as a flight attendant and spend the drinks break handing out cigars, combs and mirrors. It was a typical Miller joke.

Miller was undoubtedly one of the great allrounders the game has ever produced. But there is a question – usually raised by hardnosed cricketers of the Bradman variety – over whether Miller could have been better if his attitude was improved. Perhaps if he quit messing around and took the game a little more seriously he could have been even greater than he was? I think the truth is quite the opposite. I think it was exactly Miller’s lack of seriousness – his love of the contest rather than his love of victory, his larrikin spirit rather than his hard edge – which made him great.

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