Pietersen Must Be Dropped Down the Order
That’s right; I said it. England cricket golden child Kevin Pietersen needs to be moved down the England batting order, or I predict England will lose the final test in this series. Now that I have your attention, let me explain.
Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell were all under pressure coming into this third test match for their relative lack of form. Even though Bell had put in a couple of solid performances, he was still catching the majority of the criticism. However, Pietersen has hardly been mentioned in talks of making moves or juggling the lineup. Why not?
Pietersen is averaging, wait for it, a massive 31.60 runs in three tests [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/averages/batting_bowling_by_team.html?id=4926;team=1;type=series], with a “high” score of 81 (okay, that’s not THAT bad…I probably couldn’t score 81 against my kids). That average puts him just slightly ahead of Graeme Swann at 36.00 (although Swann went for 85), and behind all other England batsmen besides Matt Prior at 28.80. Not only that, but Pietersen is failing when his team needs him most–when wickets are falling. These ducks and single-digit totals in pressure situations are far worse than what Bell is producing–yet Bell is continuously raked over the coals. (In comparison, Jacques Kallis is averaging 59.33 [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/averages/batting_bowling_by_team.html?id=4926;team=3;type=series]).
It’s time to move Pietersen to #5 and Collingwood up to four. I know…Collingwood. He’s not the prettiest player, but man, who else on this England squad do you want coming in at #4 with the way England is batting. I think Collie’s presence would take some of the pressure off Trott and also give Pietersen the opportunity to bat with a set partner–whether it be Trott or Collie. Collingwood has the highest average of all the England players, 56.50, two half-centuries, and has bailed England out more than his fair share lately–not to mention his performances in The Ashes. Collingwood is definitely in form, and even if he isn’t, he has the grit to at least hang around and not do daft things like this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEKFSA20b1I].
I’m sure this won’t happen, but it should until Pietersen regains form. Collie has earned the chance to bat at four.
Hear more on my proposed England changes in the latest episode of The Sticky Wicket Blog Podcast. Find it on iTunes [http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=348867975].
Download Episode 2 [http://dl.dropbox.com/u/819295/Episode%202.m4a]
P.S. I made an error in the podcast stating that Swann should replace Stuart Broad at #7. Obviously, Matt Prior bats at seven and Broad at #8. Swann should move to eight and Broad should be bumped to nine.
