I could be cynical and say that in his quest to sell his book, Stuart Broad has even been prepared to talk about Kevin Pietersen in a positive light. And that his section in the book about having a harmonious dressing room, should include a what not to do list, including cliques and parody Twitter accounts.
In fairness to Broad, those views would probably be doing him a disservice as he sounded very grown up in the interview I heard.
I have been really pleased to read about, and hear Stuart Broad saying that he will be happy to welcome Kevin Pietersen back into the England dressing room as and when the management decide the time is right.
I have been a bit critical of Broad on here lately, more in respect to the fact that I think he should have been more constructive in breaking up a clique, as opposed to allegedly being a part of it.
But credit where credit is due, and Broad actually sounded very mature and genuine in the interview I heard on Talkpsort, in which he said he would have no problem with Pietersen coming back into the side as and when.
The questions he got asked were more with regard to where we go from here, as opposed to what had previously happened. He was hardly grilled in a Jeremy Paxman style way, there was no ‘what part did you play in all this’ questions, or anything about online Twitter parody accounts, but he didn’t duck anything he was asked (although it could have all been prearranged).
Before the interview started, I actually thought if he was asked any Pietersengate related questions that he would just straight bat them, but in fairness he didn’t. Whether they were pre planned questions or not, he obviously was prepared to talk about the issue (moving forward).
One thing I did pick up on was when Broad said “When KP wants to play for England, he’s a huge asset to our team.” I’m not sure if this was just a general line that didn’t have any real meaning to it, or whether it was a deliberate statement in which he was making it clear that Pietersen (at some point) didn’t want to play for England, and that was were the problem had been.
I’m not sure if I am reading too much into that statement or not.
I assume that we will have to wait until after Pietersen is finished with the Champions league before any meetings with the other players can take place, and I’m again assuming that it will depend on the outcome of those meetings as to whether or not he joins up with the India touring squad.
Ian Bell is due to come home before the 2nd Test for the birth of his child, that might signal the reintegration point if the ECB decide they want to drag things out that little bit more, which wouldn’t surprise me.
Personally, I hope it’s sorted earlier and that Pietersen leaves with the rest of the squad.
India are still heavy odds on to win the series in the cricket betting, I’ve just checked online and their odds are still at a best price of 8/13. England are 5/1 and a drawn series is 7/2.
I imagine that a statement saying Pietersen is joining the England squad could see a price movement with some online bookmakers, but in the overall picture I can’t really see it making much difference. I still expect to see England lose the series.