WHAT’S HOT WHAT’S NOT

HOT KEVIN PIETERSEN

MUCH of what the former England star says continues to reek of undimmed self-regard but Pietersen is a natural TV analyst and never scared of pertinent topics. He suggested on BT that the England bowlers may not have been in favour of Joe Root’s decision to insert Australia in Adelaide and it was hard to escape the feeling that he may have been dead right.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN

HAVING caught his fingers between two airport trolleys on his way to play in the Johannesburg Open, the South African withdrew rather than trying to play a few holes and see how he went. In pulling out early, he gave another golfer the chance to take his place. This is called good manners.

SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

SATURDAY is our traditional football day and a regular evening TV slot, as is being planned from the 2019-20 season, makes perfect sense. The only person who really has cause to worry is Simon Cowell (right).

NOT STEVE SMITH

ASKED whether his team had crossed the line with what they said to English batsmen, Smith said: ‘It’s up to the umpires to make that call.’ And there in a nutshell is why sledging — and all that degrading, embarrassing nonsense that comes with it — is here to stay. As long as people like the Australia captain fail to understand the responsibilities that come with the privilege, we may as well turn the stump mics off and let them all get on with it.

LEONID SLUTSKY

THE Russian coach moved to London last year to learn the culture and the language in readiness for a shot at management in England. Shame then that he chose basket-case club Hull for his opening assignment. A look at how the club were stripped of their best players last summer will tell you that he never really had any chance of success. Sacked this week, Slutsky is probably well out of it.

HECTOR BELLERIN

PAUL POGBA is responsible for where his studs land so deserved to be sent off against Arsenal. That is pretty much where that particular argument begins and ends. But the way Bellerin knelt down to try to block the Manchester United player was a repeat of an action he had tried once already in the game. If the Spaniard keeps doing such a strange and unnatural thing, he will get seriously hurt before long. So here is a tip: try tackling.