Kevin Pietersen: I'm not retiring,hopeful of batting slots becoming available for Ashes

Kevin Pietersen: I’m not retiring,hopeful of batting slots becoming available for Ashes: The maverick English Batsmen, Kevin Pietersen whose aspirations of donning the English jersey was thwarted by the English director in command; Andrew Strauss, still remains hopeful of an nearly next to impossible return in the national ranks in the wake of poor batting by some of the English batters. Although, he holds a restrained relationship with Strauss after the text message saga which doesn’t seem to help his cause.

Recently, Pietersen said, “There is some very exciting talent in this England team, but I believe batting slots could become available against Australia this summer. I want to be clear; I am not retiring from England. I still believe I can bat in that team and win games of cricket for England. And we have seen recently how fragile that batting order can be.

Recently, Australian players expressed their surprise on exile of Pietersen. Ryan Harris told Cricket Australia’s website “Of course, absolutely; he’s a bloody good player and one of the hardest to bowl to, I find,” While Peter Siddle said “You can’t find someone to replace him,” “I think those players are once in a lifetime, with their confidence and aggression.

KP hogged the limelight after his marathon knock of 355 for Surrey against Leicestershire in a county match. Even, after his top notch performances in county cricket, he was denied an English cap over trust issues with ECB. He further asserted:
“I am averaging 156.33 in first class cricket. I have proved I can still bat against the red ball. I just know I have to carry on batting. I love it and while that is the case I will keep going. At the end of the day I do not control the other nonsense. All I control is what I do with my bat.”

Cook had a merry run this summer with 577 runs at an astounding average of 64 to his credit. He also became the first English batsmen to reach landmark of 9,000 runs in tests. Although, KP generally seems to be quite hard on Alastair Cook for his leadership tactics which gets reflected in his tweets. But, this time around the maverick batter had something else in store for English test captain.

He praised Cook and said: “Alastair Cook is a fantastic batter. You do not get 9,000 runs at the age of 30 if you are a clown and if England are to stand half a chance against Australia he has to bat really well. It is good to see him back to his best. Now he knows where his off stump is and there are thousands of runs left in him if his back holds up and he wants to carry on.

He also pointed out about the apparent weakness of Gary Balance. Pietersen insisted: “Gary Ballance’s technique is not quite up to international standard. His technique suggests he is scared of the short ball. You cannot bat in England with your right foot, as a left-hander, behind the popping crease. You have to go towards the ball with your feet and head. The technique is not doing him any favors and I don’t know why nobody has told him before”
KP also expressed his concerns over England’s tactics of sticking with Moeen Ali as a specialist spinner in the longer format of the game.

The year 34 year old said: “I fear Australia could finish Moeen Ali off if he is used as our spin attack. They finished off Graeme Swann on the last Ashes tour and James Tredwell in the one-day series that followed. With the ball, Moeen Ali is nowhere near the standard of those two so he will struggle.

“The Aussies will play in a similar aggressive vein like New Zealand and so for England to get anywhere close they need to match fire with fire because that is what we did in 2005.” Pietersen lauded the batting of Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Ben Stokes but pointed out Gary Ballance as a problem spot in the England team.

KP has a special liking for the talented Durham All-rounder Ben Stokes and expressed his joviality over his selection in all the formats of the game. He said: “As I have said from the beginning, not picking Stokes for the World Cup was a mistake, and I hope he is now backed by Trevor Bayliss, who I hear is a very good coach.