LONDON, (Reuters) – Kevin Pietersen is not in England’s plans this summer due to a complete breakdown in trust but has not been banned from playing international cricket in the future.
England director Andrew Strauss outlined his plans in his new role yesterday and the controversial Pietersen was, unsurprisingly, the main topic of interest.
“Now is the time for us to be really open about the Kevin Pietersen situation — people have been running away from it for years,” Strauss told reporters in the Lord’s pavilion.
“The truth about Kevin is that he is a phenomenal cricketer. But over months and years trust has eroded between Kevin Pietersen and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
“There is a massive trust issue between me and Kevin.”
Pietersen was sacked by England last year following a number of incidents that culminated in the 5-0 Ashes defeat in Australia during which he was accused of being disengaged from the team.
Strauss’ first task as director was to sack Peter Moores as coach and two days later Pietersen gave a timely reminder of his batting talent with an innings of 355 not out for Surrey in the county championship, the highest score of his career.
But Strauss said that had done nothing to alter the situation and he met Pietersen on Monday evening to tell him face to face he does not feature in England’s plans.
“It did not change my thinking at all as we have always known what a fantastic cricketer Kevin is,” Strauss said. “He was not happy with the decision and I did not expect him to be.
“It’s not about his ability as a player. It’s about trust. You can’t build that over a few days.
NO GUARANTEES
“I can’t give him any guarantees about the future but he is not banned from the side because no-one knows what is going to happen in the future.” South African-born Pietersen,
34, has made 8,181 test runs, including 23 centuries, and is England’s highest run-scorer in all forms of international cricket.
He was a team mate of Strauss’ for many years and played under his captaincy but he was dropped for a test against South Africa in 2012 after sending provocative texts about the skipper to opposition players.
Strauss was forced to issue an apology in July 2014 after being caught on microphone making offensive remarks about Pietersen during a television commentary stint.
“The trust isn’t there at the moment. I wish it wasn’t the case but it is the case,” Strauss said.
“If there’s a way to build trust let’s look at it … this isn’t about Kevin Pietersen, it is about the future of English cricket.
“I know from my time playing cricket for England that trust is absolutely imperative in any team environment.”
