England Cricket Betting: Pietersen's captaincy will keep us awake at night

England Cricket / Ed Hawkins / 06 August 2008 / Leave a Comment

Ed Hawkins tells us why, as England cricket fans, our bosses will start to question why we're turning up at the office looking more and more tired.

The sorts that go to bed wearing St George's Cross-style pyjamas may have had a few sleepless nights recently. The King is dead, long live the King. A tearful Michael Vaughan has been replaced by Kevin Pietersen as captain of the England Test team.

It is not a sentence that sits comfortably with even the most one-eyed supporter. Despite Pietersen using the language which England supporters hold close to their hearts - honour, pride and passion - they will be uneasy; a result of the fear that there are more sleepless nights to come.

The insomnia could begin after the fourth Test against South Africa, which starts at The Oval tomorrow. England, under their brave new leader, are [4.70] to restore some honour, pride and passion with South Africa [3.45] for a 3-0 hammering and the draw [1.99].

But whether England enjoy a remarkable victory, suffer another defeat or just avoid one, the jury will be out on Pietersen's captaincy. It may not take long before we have answers to the three big questions over his suitability for the job. Will it affect his batting? Is he too selfish? Is he smart enough?

The first will concern Mr Patriotism the most. With Pietersen both England's best run scorer and most consistent batsman, any dip in form will be disastrous for a team with a top six which cannot be trusted.

Vaughan, also considered one of the best batsman in the world when he took the job five years ago thanks to an average of 50, suffered to the tune of almost 20 runs per innings with the 'armband'.

In Pietersen's favour, Michael Atherton and Graham Gooch both improved as batsmen thanks to the captaincy. Pietersen, by the way, is [4.2] to be top run scorer on one of his "favourite grounds" thanks to the epic 158 he scored against Australia in 2005. The ability to play such innings grew from his selfish side. He is almost as famous for it as his tremendous hitting power.

Stories abound. As a 20-year-old at Nottinghamshire Jason Gallian threw his kit out of the window because he was so irritating. And Chris Cairns got him by the scruff of the collar and threatened to do something unpleasant to him after he complained, "I'm not coming out to field, I'm sick of carrying you lot". He fielded.

It would be harsh to judge KP on such incidents eight years ago, although the saga of him batting at No 5 or No 4 in the last Ashes series brought the memories flooding back. The team management were desperate for him to take responsibility and bat higher up but Pietersen would not budge, saying he wanted to be protected from the new ball. Eventually he had no choice but to do as the team demanded. It will be a mindset he will have to get used to. Instead of thinking about his game, he must think about the ten others on his team and the 11 in the opposition.

Thinking does not appear to be Pietersen's strength. He strikes people as someone who has music playing in his head when on the field, often looking distracted or out of the loop. As captain, he will have to work out the strengths and weaknesses of opponents and set fields accordingly. He must use his bowlers intelligently, know when to attack and when to defend, use clever man-management tricks to inspire his players. And first of all, make sure he bats first on a flat Oval surface. Sleep tight, everyone.