No need to make a decision now – Dravid cricinfo

 

Rahul Dravid: "We're not playing another Test match for seven to eight months so we'll see how it pans out."

Rahul Dravid has said that he has not made a decision on whether to retire or not. There had been reports in the media about Dravid’s imminent retirement after the defeat in Adelaide, which prompted the Indian team management to issue a statement saying that none of the senior players were about to quit. That point was reiterated by the acting captain Virender Sehwag, and now Dravid has said there was no need to make decisions immediately.

“I am definitely nearer the end than the beginning, there is no doubt about that,” Dravid told Channel Nine. “I haven’t made any decision and there is no need to make any decisions now, we’re not playing another Test match for seven to eight months so we’ll see how it pans out. At my stage in my career it’s always about taking it a series at a time and not looking too far ahead, so we’ll see what happens.”

Dravid was in bad form during India’s 0-4 whitewash in Australia, scoring only 194 runs at an average of 24. His failure came after good performances in his previous two series – 319 runs at an average of 64 against West Indies at home, and 461 runs at an average of 77 in England.

None of the other India batsmen averaged over 40 either in Australia and their collective failure led to India’s second consecutive 0-4 overseas whitewash. Dravid said it was important that India try and regain ground as a Test team.

“We haven’t done so well abroad over the last couple of series but I’m hopeful that some of the young kids will come through. It might take a bit of time but we’ll build up a strong base.

“India needs to be a strong Test-playing nation, there are not too many countries playing cricket and I think if India is competitive in Test cricket it does make a difference.”

India now play a tri-series in Australia, against the hosts and Sri Lanka, after which they travel to Bangladesh for the Asia Cup in March. The Indian Premier League is scheduled for April and May, after which India will play more limited-overs cricket. Their next Test series is only in August, at home against New Zealand.

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Pietersen low on runs and time cricinfo

Kevin Pietersen has scored just 17 runs in four innings in the UAE

It seems the vultures are circling. Those who have been waiting for Kevin Pietersen to stumble are ready to strike. They smell blood.

The antipathy towards Pietersen is, in many ways, hard to understand. Perhaps it derives, in part, from his South African heritage. Pietersen has a British parent, a British wife and a British child, but that seems not to be enough for some. Despite living in a mobile, multi-cultural nation, there are some that resent the fact that he was born and raised overseas.

His career record seems not to appease, either. Before Pietersen made his international debut, England had not won the Ashes for nearly two decades and had never won a global event. He played an enormous role in rectifying those blemishes.

In 2005, it was Pietersen’s century at The Oval that ensured England held on to win that watershed series. Then he helped England to the World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean in 2010, batting quite superbly and winning the Man-of-the-Tournament award. He has scored 26 international centuries and only Don Bradman scored more runs in his first 25 Tests. Pietersen’s contribution to England cricket has been immense.

And he is only 31. He should be coming into his prime.

But that is the problem with Pietersen: from everyone who is given much, much will be demanded. And Pietersen was given plenty. He has, at times, shown he is capable of greatness, so these forays into mediocrity are all the more frustrating.

There is no concealing the fact that Pietersen is enduring a poor tour of the UAE. He has looked all at sea against spin, has given his wicket away foolishly against seam and missed a relatively simple run-out that could have turned the second Test. He is averaging 4.25 in the Test series, either lunging forward desperately, hitting across the line in panic or guiding the ball to the fielders recklessly.

Yet, just three Tests ago, Pietersen thumped a century against India. In the ten Tests before that, he made two double centuries. Strip away the disappointment and hyperbole and he has simply endured two bad games in succession. It doesn’t seem so bad, does it?

It would not be true to say he is a poor player of spin, either. Pietersen enjoyed success against Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. He has, at times, flourished against the best there have been.

He has earned – like Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss – the right for some patience. Quite rightly, none of them will be dropped in the immediate future, but all three of them face a significant challenge if they are to sustain their Test careers till the end of 2012. Three tours on Asian pitches may well make them or break them. Reputations count for little.

How much patience Pietersen will receive remains to be seen. His relationship with Andy Flower is not the warmest – their differences over the Peter Moores affair were too deep to heal completely – and Pietersen’s sometimes abrasive manner will only be tolerated while he is performing. It is hard to imagine he will be extended the same lengthy opportunities to justify his selection as Paul Collingwood enjoyed.

Perhaps that is the problem. Pietersen may appear cocky and brash, but like most who wear the cloak of confidence quite so obtrusively, it conceals insecurity. Pietersen, like everyone else, needs to feel needed and supported and valued. Flower, for all his excellence, might not have the relationship with Pietersen that allows such a rapport. Flower has done wonders for English cricket, but he has not yet coaxed the very best from Pietersen. It may prove to be his only failure.

That is not to say that Pietersen’s problems are Flower’s fault. Pietersen must take the responsibility for his failings just as he must take the credit for his success. But England would be stronger for a fully firing Pietersen and Flower has yet to find a way to make that happen.

Flower was diplomatic but non-committal when asked about Pietersen on Sunday. “Kevin is now challenged by not scoring any runs in the first two Tests, definitely,” Flower said. “But he has a record of working things out. He’s a world-class player who has done a lot of great things with a bat in his hand and has helped England win a lot of games. I don’t think you should undervalue some of the things he’s done recently for us.”

There was, however, just a hint of the frustration Flower feels when he commented about Pietersen’s plans: “You’re not going to learn much about Test batting in the IPL.”

There was another interesting moment in a press conference with Flower after the first Test. Asked about Pietersen, he replied, “He has two more chances.” At the time most of the media took that to mean on this tour. In retrospect, it might not have meant that at all.

If that is the case, then Pietersen has one more chance to prove what a fine player he can be. If he fails, he will be relying on good will to save him. And that is a resource he may find to be in scarce supply.

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Haddin wanted for 2013 Ashes cricinfo

Mickey Arthur on Brad Haddin: "Behind the stumps, the leadership he gives us is insurmountable and you can't put a price on that"

Australia’s selectors want to take Brad Haddin to the 2013 Ashes, and have challenged the 34-year-old gloveman to raise his level of performance to get there. Haddin is being rested for the first three ODIs against India and Sri Lanka, granting Matthew Wade the chance to push his case for a greater role behind the stumps, but the senior man remains well entrenched in the selectors’ plans as both keeper and leader.

Mickey Arthur, the national coach and also a selector, said the panel wanted to be able to keep Haddin on until the next meeting with England, but needed to see more runs from him to turn the possibility into reality.

“Behind the stumps, the leadership he gives us is insurmountable and you can’t put a price on that,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. “I’m comfortable with where Brad’s at, yes we’d like more runs from him, but I’m really comfortable that Brad is on the right track. Yes we’ve got to get performance and nobody is guaranteed their position, but I’m very comfortable that Brad Haddin could potentially go forward to the Ashes series.”

Haddin’s current place as Michael Clarke’s deputy is significant, as the duo formed a potent leadership axis against India. Alongside Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, Haddin’s experience and savvy are considered critical to the team’s development. Asked to quantify the value of the elder trio, Arthur said: “They are adding a massive amount, a massive amount.”

Australia’s series win over India was a marker of significant progress for the hosts, but its aftermath has been dominated by criticism of the Indian effort. Arthur said the Australians were due some credit for the way they had performed across the four Tests.

“I’m not sure what the issues are that [India] have among themselves, but what I do know is that our guys played exceptionally good cricket, and sometimes your opponent is only allowed to play as well as you let them,” Arthur said. “There has been a focus on India not performing, but we need to have a look at ourselves and say ‘maybe we did play some good cricket’.

“We need to give ourselves a pat on the back. We know it is just the start of this journey though, we’re nowhere near the finished article as a Test team, there’s a lot of room for improvement, a lot of things we can do better, and it is the start of what could be a very exciting journey.”

That journey leads to England in 2013, and Arthur said he had kept an interested eye on the concurrent series between Andrew Strauss’ team and Pakistan. A dramatic 2-0 series victory for Pakistan has opened questions about England’s No. 1 status, but Arthur said the circumstances they encountered were extremely difficult for any touring team.

“One thing we do need to understand about that is England have just come out of a winter, where they haven’t played a huge amount of cricket,” he said. “They’ve gone to conditions where it’s turned, which is really tough to counter… [One warm-up match] was a big contrast to last summer … I wouldn’t read too much into it, they were us much out of their comfort zone as they could possibly be, and they’ll be on the money for the following [Ashes] series, no doubt.”

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