Skater
ICC Chairman
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2004
- Profile Flag
- England
Sky Sports commentator David Lloyd gave his daily opinion on the Sky website today, saying that Kevin Pietersen was 'born to be a protea'- do you think he's right?
DAVID LLOYD:
"Kevin Pietersen will surely make the step up to Test cricket this summer. And rightly so, he has the talent. He is as good a player as I have seen for a long time. It is rare to see a player walk into a side and dominate in such a manner. I only wish he was doing it for South Africa. Why? Because he is a South African. Jeff Powell in the Daily Mail and Tanya Aldred in the Guardian sum it up perfectly. After watching Pietersen smash England's fastest ever one-day hundred, Powell asked: "Was I alone in feeling somewhat uncomfortable when Pietersen was acclaimed as bludgeoning 'the fastest one-day hundred by an Englishman?'" Alrded writes: "He could have been the hero, to whites and blacks, been part of building a new nation. He could have walked out to roars at The Wanderers and not had to see his parents in tears as they heard their son being jeered by his former fellow countrymen. He could have sung the national anthem of the country....Instead he will be English but not quite. The wall of sound that greets Andrew Flintoff at Lord's will never be his."I agree with Powell who says: "Loyalty should reside in one's own country, not to be transferred when it suits. Pietersen proudly kisses the three lions on his helmet. Pietersen took Clive Rice's advice and moved to Nottinghamshire, thinking his path to Test cricket in South Africa would be blocked by quota systems. He is that good, that had he toughed it out he would be in the South African team, he is better than their current players. He is only young, and he may have acted hastily. He seems to be a grand lad, and he is a great, exceptional talent but when the going got tough, I would have preferred to have seen him stick it out. But there is no going back now and South Africa's loss is England's gain. If Pietersen was the positive for England this winter, then Steve Harmison was the negative.
It just didn't happen for him. He is not the first person this has happened to, but his test will be whether he can rediscover his from. I guarantee you it won't be for the lack of effort. He fronted up and admitted that he had not done well enough. He will be a big asset for England if he can rediscover his form. But England can look back on a great Test series victory. The team effort and team spirit in the Test matches was magnificent. But then it disappeared in the ODI series. We looked mentally shot and South Africa handled the psychological aspect of the game better than England."
DAVID LLOYD:
"Kevin Pietersen will surely make the step up to Test cricket this summer. And rightly so, he has the talent. He is as good a player as I have seen for a long time. It is rare to see a player walk into a side and dominate in such a manner. I only wish he was doing it for South Africa. Why? Because he is a South African. Jeff Powell in the Daily Mail and Tanya Aldred in the Guardian sum it up perfectly. After watching Pietersen smash England's fastest ever one-day hundred, Powell asked: "Was I alone in feeling somewhat uncomfortable when Pietersen was acclaimed as bludgeoning 'the fastest one-day hundred by an Englishman?'" Alrded writes: "He could have been the hero, to whites and blacks, been part of building a new nation. He could have walked out to roars at The Wanderers and not had to see his parents in tears as they heard their son being jeered by his former fellow countrymen. He could have sung the national anthem of the country....Instead he will be English but not quite. The wall of sound that greets Andrew Flintoff at Lord's will never be his."I agree with Powell who says: "Loyalty should reside in one's own country, not to be transferred when it suits. Pietersen proudly kisses the three lions on his helmet. Pietersen took Clive Rice's advice and moved to Nottinghamshire, thinking his path to Test cricket in South Africa would be blocked by quota systems. He is that good, that had he toughed it out he would be in the South African team, he is better than their current players. He is only young, and he may have acted hastily. He seems to be a grand lad, and he is a great, exceptional talent but when the going got tough, I would have preferred to have seen him stick it out. But there is no going back now and South Africa's loss is England's gain. If Pietersen was the positive for England this winter, then Steve Harmison was the negative.
It just didn't happen for him. He is not the first person this has happened to, but his test will be whether he can rediscover his from. I guarantee you it won't be for the lack of effort. He fronted up and admitted that he had not done well enough. He will be a big asset for England if he can rediscover his form. But England can look back on a great Test series victory. The team effort and team spirit in the Test matches was magnificent. But then it disappeared in the ODI series. We looked mentally shot and South Africa handled the psychological aspect of the game better than England."
