A balanced view on Pietersen would help England

I always read Stephen Brenkley's pieces for The Independent and he's a good writer but this one about Pietersen is just poor. It references a bloke in a pub, a cab driver and the unsubstantiated rumours that he might have wanted to retire from at least one form of cricket after the World Cup. Next he'll be quoting a "source" or a "close friend" tabloid style. It's a poor piece of writing.

The one thing that everyone in the know is unanimous on is that no-one works harder on their game than Kevin Pietersen, so any suggestion that his heart isn't in it should be ridiculed. Pietersen is this generation's Ramprakash so, while his place shouldn't be taken foregranted, he should be given every opportunity to succeed. Those that know him suggest that far from not caring, he almost wants it too much.

While his dismissals are often cause for annoyance from those willing him to succeed (because more often than not they're of his own making rather than the bowler's) Pietersen still averages late 40s in Test cricket after a relatively prolonged slump. And remember that's a slump which includes a double hundred. Andy Flower isn't a fool - if he didn't think Pietersen was the right man he'd move on, but he knows that Pietersen is key to reaching the stated target of world number 1.

I know there are many who read this blog who have taken against Pietersen, but for me baseless articles like Brenkley's this weekend have a lot to answer for. Few facts, mostly gossip. Journalists agree that there is no England player more polite and helpful to them, but they also confirm he reads everything and tackles them about perceived untruths. On Sky yesterday the Cricket Writers on TV all agreed they wouldn't drop Pietersen this summer if it was their decision, so suggestions that he may be dropped can wait until he's not scored a 50 and we're into August to have any credibility. He's only batted twice for England this summer after all. Sigh...

Hopefully Brenkley will quickly return to writing properly.