Pietersen sacking circus could all have been avoided, insists Broad
ENGLAND bowler Stuart Broad has queried the merits of sacking maverick batsman Kevin Pietersen from international cricket and insists the subsequent furore could have been avoided if the saga had been handled better.
Pietersen has been discarded by England since his career was brought to an enforced halt last February following last winter’s disastrous Ashes tour, while a string of revelations in his controversial biography caused further ructions.
Broad insists Pietersen’s form alone provided sufficient ammunition for the 34-year-old to be dropped – he averaged sub-35 in his final 12 Tests – and perhaps a more appropriate option for cricket bosses to take. “It just became a bit of a media uproar, the whole sacking, it just seemed a bit unnecessary when every other player in the history of the game just gets dropped for poor form,” said Broad.
Pietersen’s name continues to linger around the national side and the batsman unsuccessfully hankered after a place in a Prime Minister’s XI to face England in Canberra on Wednesday.
Broad believes a focus on Twenty20 cricket and lack of exposure to red ball cricket, together with the emergence of other top-order batsmen render a Test recall unlikely. He added: “The three Test matches we won in the summer against India were probably the strongest performances in the 74 Tests I’ve played, and they were without Kevin Pietersen.”