While South Africa are still lingering over their disastrous one day series against England, the hosts have been over the moon and their direction has only been upwards since Kevin Pietersen took guard as skipper. Now the team is hoping for pie in the sky and the board is backing these players to fill their personal pockets.
The Stanford Twenty20 challenge is a rival to the IPL, at least when it comes to fill player’s bulging bank accounts. Each member of the eleven taking the field in the challenge stands to win one millions dollars which when converted into local currency will make the England players rich in a filthy way. While the series against South Africa was not necessarily played with the Stanford treat in mind, the ECB has decided to reward the team by essentially naming the same squad for the Twenty20 bonanza in the Caribbean as well as the seemingly diminutive seven one day international series in India.
Perhaps the only name of significance is all of this is that of Ryan Sidebottom who makes a comeback from injury. Tim Bresnan makes way for him. Steve Harmison has stepped in nicely into the team plans at Pietersen’s insistence and it has meant with the added performance of Stuart Broad’s meteoric rise that Matthew Hoggard finds himself out in the cold for no fault of his.
The idea behind naming Kevin Pietersen as the skipper of England without compunction indicates England are perhaps looking in the right way to build the core of players that will essentially represent the team in all three versions of the game. Of course, for men like Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook who have been restricted to Test cricket for the moment will want to change their scenario around as well keeping in mind the strategy England will see the revival of their cricket in the year to come.
Another matter of significance is the fact that neither Tim Ambrose nor Matt Prior find themselves in the centrally contracted players indicating that the wicket keeping position is still up for grabs and that perhaps the tour to India will subsequently decide how England should proceed in the matter ahead of their much anticipated Ashes next year.
In another comforting thought (unlike the one the one Sourav Ganguly sits on), Michael Vaughan who took a break upon relinquishing the captaincy has been disposed off. If anything, the ECB has extended his central contract indicating that they expect him to play an integral role in the forthcoming cricket season for England although it will be comeback of sorts for a man who did look out of sorts on a more personal front before rightfully handing over the reins to his successor. Pietersen, it appears, is not just being reciprocal is indicating his appreciation and wanting Vaughan in the team. It is perhaps another indication that shrewd KP would want to pick Vaughan’s brain as he intends to keep his captaincy graphs soaring.
England’s strategy is taking shape. Now how it will deliver remains critical for its revival.316080