Wednesday, August 22, 2012 CYPRUS MAIL
32
Sport
Australia’s Pocock facing three months out of action 28
Bassong, Adebayor go, AVB set to offload more 31
Fergie wants RVP’s powers maximised Van Persie’s strengths under-used in Everton clash By Carl Markham
M
Pietersen’s contract wrangles with the ECB have been ongoing all summer
Pietersen urged to face up to ‘sad situation’ KEVIN Pietersen holds the key to whether he ever plays for England again, England coach Andy Flower said yesterday. The South Africa-born batsman’s omission from England’s defence of their ICC World Twenty20 crown, and the squad to face his native country in five one-day internationals and three Twenty20s this month and next, was confirmed yesterday morning. Andy Flower confirmed too that, until Pietersen speaks face to face with his England and Wales Cricket Board employers and management, no progress can be made for his possible re-integration into the team in any format. England are understood to be significantly concerned about the exact content of text messages Pietersen sent to opposition players during the drawn Test against South Africa at Headingley. They reportedly included derogatory references to his Test captain Andrew Strauss - and when Pietersen did get round to apologising for them, as the ECB requested, he acknowledged they were “provocative”. Flower yesterday made it clear the text messages are not the only issue in a “very sad situation”. That situation also resulted in Pietersen being dropped for the Lord’s Test - lost on Monday by 51 runs, as England went down 2-0 in the Investec series to South Africa and also conceded their world number one status to those opponents. Pietersen’s contract wrangles with the ECB - specifically over his initial wish, since retracted, to play a full Indian Premier League season next year at a time when England have Test match obligations - have
been ongoing all summer, and brought his retirement from all international limitedovers cricket three months ago. That position has also been revised, but many fear that at the age of just 32, Pietersen may effectively have called time on his England career. It was no surprise yesterday morning that he was left out of both England’s final 15 to defend their Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka next month, and the 14 names to take on South Africa before then. The squads were also notable for Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad’s absence from the forthcoming ODIs - starting in Cardiff on Friday - to give him a short rest before a packed schedule ahead. Moments after they were announced, Flower voiced his regret that Pietersen had effectively made his position in the England team untenable. “It’s a very sad situation for everyone involved,” he said. “He played superbly at the last Twenty20 World Cup, but the circumstances that exist at the moment mean he can’t be selected for us.” England’s diary is packed, and Pietersen should be busy playing for Surrey for the remainder of the season. But it is understood there is a will on the part of the ECB to arrange a face-to-face meeting, and it is thought Strauss and Pietersen may be considering doing so next weekend. Flower added, however: “Let me be clear this is not just an issue between the captain and Kevin ... There are unresolved issues that have reared their heads in recent weeks, and they have to be resolved before there is any way forward.”
anchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson wants to see his team play more to the strengths of new recruit Robin van Persie after the Dutchman’s debut ended in defeat at Everton. Belgium midfielder Marouane Fellaini was the outstanding player at Goodison Park and scored the only goal with a powerful header early in the second half. Van Persie appeared as a second-half substitute and Ferguson rued the former Arsenal striker’s new teammates not involving him as much in the danger areas as he had wished. “We were a wee bit disappointing in terms of finishing off the approach play we had,” Ferguson said. “We played around him (Van Persie) too much, we didn’t show enough penetration.” Ferguson is waiting for good news on the defensive front after Monday night’s 1-0 setback. A back four featuring only two recognised defenders Nemanja Vidic, who had not played since December, and Patrice Evra, whose future has been questioned over the summer - suffered at the hands of a rampant Fellaini. But Ferguson did not believe a weakened backline had contributed significantly to United’s first opening-fixture loss since 2008. While it is unlikely the injured Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand will be available to face Fulham at Old Trafford this weekend, Ferguson hopes to see some progress. “I don’t think any will be fit for Sunday,” he said. “Hopefully Evans is getting near to be able to start. With a good week’s training it will bring him on a bit and in a couple of weeks he will be okay.” Winger Antonio Valencia was deployed at right-back by Ferguson, while midfielder Michael Carrick was posi-
Everton’s Fellaini caused United all kinds of problems and scored the only goal in the Monday game tioned alongside Vidic in the centre. Fellaini caused United all kinds of problems and had it not been for the excellence of goalkeeper David de Gea the visitors would have been well behind by half-time. Ferguson was more concerned by his team’s lack of a cutting edge, especially when he introduced £24million striker Van Persie for the last 22 minutes. Ferguson told MUTV: “With Robin in your team you know you want to use his ability against centre-backs in situations he is very good at - but we didn’t use him enough. “There were a couple of moments: I thought Danny Welbeck maybe was pushed (by Phil Jagielka in the first half) as he went in the box that was a big moment. Tom Cleverley’s shot was saved by Jagielka on the line in the second half. “We had these kind of moments but I’m not criticising the team, they worked well and played some great football.
“It’s difficult here, you have the crowd influencing the referee all the time and it makes it difficult for you.” Everton manager David Moyes celebrated his first opening-game win for five seasons, but insisted that hardly meant they had succeeded in shrugging off their tag of being perennial slow-starters. “We haven’t started seasons well and even this result doesn’t tell you you have started the season well,” Moyes said. “Just as if we had lost we wouldn’t say we had started the season badly. “I’ve tried absolutely everything to try to get off to a good start, so we tried something different this year. “I am really pleased because they performed ever so well and got a great result.”