Rooney & Pietersen: The flawed geniuses we tolerate and celebrate

In a relatively successful week in the recent context of English sport, we were reminded that the talismanic fulcrums around which our two premium national teams are built around, demand their audience to tolerate and celebrate them in equal meaure. Whilst Kevin Pietersen's cavalier free-scoring was eclipsed by an uncharacteristically dismissive innings from Andrew Strauss, Wayne Rooney was lauding the Wembley turf as though it had been created purely for his own personal expression. The common trait that did link them throughout the week, and is often the only punctuation of the adulation heaped upon them, is their habitual petulance.

As KP pushed out his bottom lip in St Lucia, Rooney's admirable work-rate lead to him counterintuitively smashing his limited internal thermostat, thus resulting in a tackle against Ukraine that, whilst winning the wall, served as a subtle reminder to his questionable temperament. Rooney and Pietersen are 2009's version of compsers who, whilst beguiling as some of the greatest exponents of their art, are never far away from their own insular Achilles Heel. They have had their predecessors,both in the medium term in Gascoigne and Botham and today in the recreational rower Flintoff and the alleged nightclub scuffler Gerrard. Clearly, the requirement to place an observation in contemporary context does a relative disservice to Freddy and Stevie in comparison to Gazza and Beefy, and English fans have every right to expect these incidents to be the exception rather than the rule.

Rooney's desire and passion can manifest itself in either a tackle north of the ankle, or a hurried re-distribution of the ball that passes too close to a referee. With Rooney however, there is always the sense that his enthusiasm is borne out of a desire for team progression. The same can always be immediately assumed of Pietersen. Whilst his interview technique often extolls the virtues of a team ethic, his behaviour in key scenarios often belies this. For every carefully constructed soundbite, there is an attempt for a six when pragmatism should be the top priority. Whist his undeniable contribution to the English Test team ensures that these subtles nuances of his character are rightly tolerated, surely it would be better for all concerned if any potential lambasting directed at KP, was as a result of his investment in the betterment of the team, rather than vocal self-indulgence ellicited by the pheromones of a dictaphone.

Sehwag shows England the merits of the IPL playground

Virender Sehwag's swashbuckling innings in New Zealand was as much an indictment of English stroke-making conservatism as it was a celebration of the Indian tradition of providing talismanic batsman. As Sehwag was hitting a one-day century off 60 balls, including 92 from boundaries alone in his final total of 125, England were cursing their inability to make quick runs at pivotal moments in Test matches as the series in the Caribbean meandered to a predictable, anti-climatic ending.

As Andrew Strauss now has to galvanize his troops for a return home series against their latest conquerors, the intermitting period sees the first IPL fixtures to include Test playing Englishmen. Whilst players like Kevin Pietersen and Freddie Flintoff need no advice on explosive hitting, surely the more English players, especially batsmen, that get to open their shoudlers in the sub-Continental bonanza the better. England are limited to 7 participants this April due to how the auction went, considering how many English players may have been signed up had the ECB not limited their countrymen to a mere 3 week involvement is a curious yet futile consideration.

With Freddie's body looking increasingly like it might prematurely end his days as a genuine all rounder at Test level, only Matty Prior is left as a viable candidate to take up the reins when an English innings needs whipping through the gears. Most concerning however is the fact that of the 5 other English players signed up for the IPL, Collingwood, Bopara, Shah, Napier and Mascherenhas, 2 are nowhere near the Test side, whilst the other three (Colly, Shah and Bopara) actually have the propensity to swing the willow when the situation dictates.

All the while the hierarchy of the ECB sulk because the dollars found their way to India rather than Lords, and take out this tantrum through hindering English players ability to secure their futures and imporve their aggresive strokes, the Test side will stay flacid in fourth, when situations dictate a swift shift to sixth. The IPL is going to grow exponentially both in terms of respect within the game and the revenue sourced from outside it, and the longer the bulk of English players and officials are on the outside looking in at the party, the more chance there is that their tea will turn cold.