Cricket
KP's job 'under threat'
2009-01-07 07:43
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England captain Kevin Pietersen (Gallo Images)
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Rob HouwingCape Town – England’s controversial South African-born cricket captain, Kevin Pietersen, could sensationally lose his post.
Pietersen has been holidaying back in the land of his birth – he is due back in England on Thursday - and had been widely tipped a few days ago to prevail in his intriguing power struggle with Peter Moores, and that the coach would be fired.
The strong-willed batsman had indicated publicly that there was a serious rift between the two, and requested English Cricket Board (ECB) intervention.
But on Wednesday it appeared Pietersen was not mustering quite the degree of support from officialdom he may have expected and that a double departure was a growing possibility.
Cricinfo reported that the 12-man ECB board met by teleconference on Tuesday night, “raising the possibility that Pietersen may pay the price for his outspoken views on the future direction of the England team”.
The website said that research conducted by the ECB in the last few days suggested that Pietersen did not have the steadfast support of his team-mates or the back-room staff.
“The majority of the England support staff are understood to be supportive of Moores, while most of the players are underwhelmed by Pietersen’s dramatic intervention.
“There are those within the set-up who feel Pietersen has betrayed the coach’s trust.
“Attitudes toward Pietersen also appear to be hardening at board level. While few are completely convinced by Moores, they do not like the manner in which the captain has attempted to dictate events.”
On the BBC website, meanwhile, former England batsman Mark Butcher warned that there may be “no winner” in the dispute.
“If KP gets his way and Moores is removed, then the spotlight is going to be very much on KP. Whoever comes out on top, it then puts them under enormous pressure.”
And seasoned BBC columnist Mihir Bose said: “An issue that should have been dealt with by banging a few heads together has assumed the proportions of a major crisis.
“The air is so polluted that the two men can hardly bear to be together.”
The Guardian’s irreverent Spin columnist Lawrence Booth feared a worsening of divisions in the dressing room over the crisis.
“If and when Pietersen succeeds in driving Peter Moores from office, he may find that the relief of ousting a man he did not rate is replaced by a more profound problem: how to unite a dressing room containing characters who do not necessarily regard (him) as the chosen one.
“Andrew Flintoff’s dislike of his captain is hardly a state secret.”