|
|
|
Kevin Pietersen says Andrew Flintoff's role as England captain could have affected his form during their disastrous Ashes series in Australia.
England famously suffered a 5-0 whitewash during the Test series with the Aussies, with even their fine one-day victory at the end of the tour failing to disguise the dreadful manner of their loss.
Michael Vaughan's injury led to Flintoff and Andrew Strauss fighting it out to captain England during the Ashes, with the big Lancashire all-rounder getting the nod for the tour.
Many questioned whether Flintoff could stand up to the mental strain of leading the side as well as coping with his hefty on-field workload as star batsman and bowler.
Flintoff did seem to suffer at times, especially with the bat, and now Pietersen has admitted that the added responsibility may have affected Flintoff's form.
"It's a real hard trip," Pietersen told the Sunday Times.
"The Australians target the captain; they think that if you break the captain, you break the team.
"I thought it would be different because Fred is such a good player and they respect Fred because of how good he is, but they got hold of him and I think it probably played a big part in his series.
"They do fear him as a bowler and they do fear him as a batter and he showed glimpses of it (his best form). I just wonder whether the burden of captaincy hindered his performances.
"He didn't show it, he wasn't different, but there were little things that maybe hindered his performance.
"I'm a free-flowing player; I don't have to worry about much, just scoring runs, but when you're standing at the back of your mark and you've got to bowl at 90mph and you're thinking, 'Oh, I should have my first slip a bit wider', it hinders your thought patterns, and it's a tough job, especially if you have Australia on your back."
Flintoff did bounce back in the one-day series however, as England turned things around in some style inflicting three straight defeats on world champions Australia on their way to winning the CB series.
Pietersen admits that just the sheer pressure of playing in Australia can affect a player's form, regardless of whether they are captain or not.
"You never know how a person is going to go in Australia, there's just so much pressure," added Pietersen.
"Two blokes were in the running for the captaincy; Fred got it and didn't have a great series. Straussy (Andrew Strauss) didn't get it and he didn't have a great series, so it's hard."
Flintoff will again be in the running to lead England in the World Cup should Vaughan not fully recover from his latest problem with a hamstring injury.
|
Source: Sky Sports |
|
|
|
Other great sites
Search
|
