Facing only his second ball of the innings Pietersen was given lbw after a lengthy look from the umpire after the batsman had pushed forward and the ball had hit his front pad.

It was a complete turn around from Pietersen’s magnificent 116 a few days ago in the 40 over Clydesdale Bank match against Sussex, and will at least have the selectors scratching their heads over his form in the longer game.

While on his day he is an extravagant and cavalier match winner, it is those same qualities that make Pietersen a possible liability for England particularly in test matches, and with the Ashes tour looming he faces an uphill task to stake his claim for a place in the squad.

Along with Andrew Flintoff, Pietersen was once an untouchable in the England team, it was their flair that has made them the household names of cricket. But things have moved on, Flintoff has not been around since last years Ashes due to injury and Pietersen has not seemed the same player since his own injury problems.

England no longer rely on either of these players and for the first time in years appear to have a stock of quality young players who are making the most of any chances they are given within the England set up.

While I would love KP to be among the Ashes squad, like many others  also believe that England do already have the quality of players in place to at least give Australia a hard time in the upcoming Ashes tournament.

KP dropped from England one day squad

Struggling England batsman Kevin Pietersen will make his debut for county side Surrey today (Wednesday) after being dropped from the England one day team.

The England and Wales Cricket Board stepped in to negotiate the deal on Pietersen’s behalf in an attempt to get the player back to his best form ahead of the all important Ashes tour which starts on November 25th in Brisbane.

With only four county games remaining for Surrey the team will have their work cut out in whipping Pietersen into shape and rekindling the confidence that has drained from his performances over the last few months.

Ironically Pietersen gets the chance to rebuild his international career with the Surrey side as he replaces Steve Davis who heads off to join the England limited overs side.

Pietersen could also find himself in serious trouble with the England management after broadcasting the news that he had been dropped from the team on social media network Twitter.

andrew flintoff - still waiting for return to cricket

As part of his rehabilitation following major surgery to his knee, Andrew Flintoff had been pencilled in to take part in a one day match for Lancashire today (Monday August 2nd), but despite his progress the 32 year old all rounder has been withdrawn from the game following medical advice from the Lancashire County medical team.

Despite not being considered ready to take part in today’s contest against Yorkshire, it is reported that Flintoff may yet start for the county side in a three day game against the White Rose second team which starts on Tuesday.

It is thought that the slower pace of the three day game will be a better option for Flintoff to start his comeback, rather than risking him in the thick of the faster one day game.

Lancashire coach Peter Moores said;

“Nothing’s happened it’s just a case of them being happy with the level of conditioning around the knee and his general body so that when he does play he’s at minimum risk of getting injured again. It’s been a long rehab so far, and what they’re making sure is that it’s not rushed. It’s got to be right. They think, at the moment, that he’s not quite ready and ruled him out of the one-dayer, because there is slightly more violent running round in a one-dayer. They’ll assess where he is for the rest of the week.”

KP leaving Hampshire

Kevin Pietersen has confirmed that he will be leaving county side Hampshire at the end of this season, claiming that living in London is an issue in playing for the Southampton based team.

Pietersen joined Hampshire from Nottinghamshire at the end of the 2004 season, but since making his England Test debut in July 2005 has figured very little in county level cricket.

He made his first appearance for Hampshire in two years in last Sunday’s Friends Provident T20 win over Surrey, and in his six seasons with the county he has featured in just two T20 games, seven County Championship matches and 17 one-dayers.

Pietersen’s agent Adam Wheatley says that there have been no approaches from other clubs  as yet, but is hoping that now the announcement has been made things may well change.

It is possible for Pietersen to continue playing International cricket without an association to a county side, an ECB spokesman confirmed this, but added, “Practically, it’s in the best interest of the player and the England management that he is registered with a county. This is so the option exists for that player to go back to his county and play cricket when required, eg in between international series.”

Ironically Pietersen returns to Hampshire’s Rose Bowl home next week for England’s opening One Day International against Australia.

Hampshire chairman of cricket Rod Bransgrove added: “Given England’s critical dependence on KP in all forms of cricket, we have not seen anything like as much of him as we would have liked over the past six years. He remains, however, a fantastic player and we wish him continued success wherever he plays.”

andrew flintoff - ashes 2009 cardiff

With England in such fine form since winning the Ashes last year, the name of Andrew Flintoff has been all but forgotten, temporarily at least.

The 32 year old all rounder has spent the past few months out of the cricket headlines, continuing his rehabilitation in Dubai, but it is still unclear whether surgery will put him back on the road to recovery or end his career altogether.

On a flying visit to Manchester from his Middle East base, Flintoff was understandably cagey when questioned about his future plans.

Although he has stated in the past about his desire to become a ‘freelance’ player and pick and choose when and where he played, several months on Flintoff appears unsure as to if and when he will be back playing cricket, at any level.

He told reporters in Manchester that his first task would be to get fit enough to be considered for the Lancashire County team, but was non committal on when that might be possible, despite being on record as targeting July or August in previous reports.

Flintoff clearly has a long slog ahead of him, something that he made quite clear in Manchester, saying:

“The goals at this stage are pretty short term. I’ve got to get back running first and then get a bat in my hand and a ball and take it from there. A lot’s been said about freelance cricket, and playing here there and everywhere – and I’d like to. There’s been chat about playing for an Australian side and various things. That’s all in the future. I’ve got some hard yards ahead of me in the next few months to be in position to do any of that.”

Lets hope that ‘Freddie’ can make a full recovery, for me, as a Twenty/20 freelancer the Indian Premier League would be the ideal final destination for one of England’s all time great players.

andrew flintoff

Andrew Flintoff has revealed that he has signed a three year contract with county club Lancashire that will see him play one day cricket only for the team and allows him the flexibility to pursue a lucrative one day career around the world.

The injury prone all rounder announced his retirement from Test cricket at the end of the Ashes series this year, saying that he wanted to focus on one day cricket in the future, but he did not feature in any of the recent One Day Internationals as he has been out of action with a knee injury since August.

In a statement on Lancashire CC website Flintoff said;

“I am delighted at being able to agree a new contract which enables me to remain at Old Trafford for the next three years. I have felt part of Lancashire ever since I first played here as a schoolboy and I want to help them achieve success. I have enjoyed many highs with England over the years, but I have not had the same success with Lancashire and thats something I want to address.

I am looking forward to being around the Lancashire dressing room more now I have retired from Test cricket and this contract will also give me the flexibility to play other forms of one-day cricket around the world, which hopefully help me develop as a player and in turn, help Lancashire and England.”

Flintoff already has a lucrative contract to feature in Twenty20 with Chennai in the Indian Premier League and hopes that when he is fully fit to play in ‘every England game except Test matches’, despite turning down a lower tier incremental contract with his country in September.

He has said that it is his goal to become the world’s best one day and Twenty20 player, fitness permitting.

marcus trescothick

Former England opening batsman Marcus Trescothick has had to return home from India where he had been involved in the Champions League Twenty20 with county side Somerset, following a recurrence of his stress related illness.

Trescothick scored 17 runs in the two innings that he has taken part in, helping to take Somerset into the second phase of the tournament but will now take no further part in the competition.

The player has struggled with the illness in the past and has twice been sent home from International duty, the first time in India in February 2006 and then in Australia in November of the same year. He also collapsed at Heathrow while waiting to fly out with Somerset for a pre-season tour of the United Arab Emirates in March 2008.

While Trescothick had not been selected for England since his return from Australia in 2006, he formally retired from international cricket following the events of March 2008.

Both Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss have tried in their capacity as England captain to get Trescothick to come out retirement for his country but the player has rejected their appeals.

The truth is that England have never found a replacement for the aggressive opening batsman in limited overs cricket.

One of the 2005 Ashes heroes when his sixteen wicket haul in the series helped England to the famous win, Hoggard has already suffered the disappointment of being discarded by the England selectors since 2008.

Hoggard claims that Yorkshire are letting him go for financial reasons and says that he was sacked over a cup of coffee and was upset at not getting the chance of a proper farewell.

“One thing that really annoyed me was that I only got to say goodbye through the press. We had started talks about being captain. It went from being interested in being captain to ‘I’m sorry we’re not renewing your contract’.”

Yorkshire Cricket Club have hit back at Hoggard’s claims, saying that the captaincy was something that the player had ‘personally tabled with Colin Graves the chairman of Yorkshire CC.’

“Colin informed Matthew that he would feed his request into the next board meeting, but at no stage was Matthew ever offered the position of Yorkshire captain.”

A statement from Yorkshire CC said;

“An extremely competitive two-year contract, with the option of a third year based on performance, was offered to Matthew at the beginning of the season; a deal that would have retained his position as one of the highest earners at the county. Matthew turned that contract offer down as he wanted a higher salary and a longer contract.

The club and player agreed that they would review the situation after the season had ended. Over the course of the summer the club has reviewed its playing staff for 2010 and made plans to secure a number of key players.

At the meeting last Thursday, Matthew was informed that the board had made the decision not to offer him a new contract. This decision had been made in light of a number of factors – the current economic climate, the player’s contractual requirements and a detailed analysis of the make-up of the professional squad for the 2010 season.”

Hoggard says he is now looking for another county, “I am still fit, I didn’t miss any games last year through injury. I’m the leading wicket-taker, I’ve got a lot to offer and my experience is second to none in the County Championship.”

What Matthew Hoggard needs right now is a relaxing cruise holiday?

Bradmans long standing record fell during an innings of 107 for Langer, taking the Australian left hander past the 28,067 that Bradman had scored.

Langer retired from international cricket after helping Australia whitewash England in the 2006-07 Ashes series. He made 7,696 runs in 105 tests for the Aussies forming a prolific partnership with Matthew Hayden.

The 38 year old Langer has now scored 28, 080 runs in an 18 tear career and was rewarded for his record breaking achievement with a bottle of champagne by his Worcestershire team after overhauling the man he refers to as the ‘epitome of Australian cricket.’

Chris Adams has certainly been a fantastic captain for Sussex and has had great success. During his time at Hove, he has won three County Championship titles as well as the C&G trophy. He is a true professional and deserves to go out on top in my opinion. Now he has won the Pro40 title he can do just that. Chris Adams himself admits that he sees now as a ‘great time to bow out’.

The man that has the difficult job of replacing Chris Adams is Michael Yardy. The 27-year-old – who has played six one day internationals for England – will bring his own style to the captaincy and according to Chris Adams can ‘bring a lot to the team’. Sussex have a lot of young players right now and perhaps it is right that they are going to be led by Michael Yardy who will take the county into a new era of cricket.

As for Chris Adams himself, he still has one year remaining on his contract and is expected to continue as a player for them next season. I have always liked the way he plays and he can be such a destructive batsman on his day – something he has proved time and time again for Sussex. I guess it is a shame he only represented England on 10 occasions, but in all honesty his average of 13 in test matches and 17 in ODI’s doesn’t exactly suggest that he was made for international cricket.

Something I would put a lot of my cricket betting money on though is that he will score a bucket full of runs for Sussex next season with the weight of the captaincy of his shoulders. He averages 38.78 in first class cricket and it would be fitting for his contribution the game if he could sneak that above 40 by the time he calls it a day.

As for County Championship betting, well that will probably be altered as a result of Chris Adams’ decision.