Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Kev, stop tweeting!

Whatever the hurt pride, I can't see that Kevin Pietersen tweeting "I'm shocked and saddened by reports in the media today concerning my future with England ... " has helped his case. Even with Michael Vaughan's support (see Telegraph article), his difference with Andy Flower is something that needs to be sorted out in private, not in the media (which includes Twitter) following the Mail's report. I'm sure Pietersen doesn't mean to bring the England team into disrepute but there's nothing to be gained by 'fanning the flames' in public.

As I said in a previous post, resolving difficulties with Pietersen has not been easy. After all, it was Alastair Cook that facilitated Pietersen's reintegration after the last fiasco. As I pointed out in my tweet, Shane Warne took full advantage of this before the Ashes, encouraging the sledging on the field. As England fall further down the rankings from their peak in 2011 (see previous post), it's important that Pietersen is not made a scapegoat. But the England team is more important than his ego. He shouldn't need to state his desire to help regain the Ashes for England. It should go without saying.