LONDON: Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen expressed sadness over the end of his international career yesterday and said that he was “incredibly overwhelmed” by the support he had received.
The 33-year-old’s days as an international cricketer came to an end on Tuesday when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that it had “unanimously” decided to move forward without him.
With England due to name their squads for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies and the World Twenty20 today, the ECB’s new managing director, Paul Downton, elected to make a decisive call on Pietersen’s future.
Pietersen posted a picture on photo-sharing website Instagram of himself leaving the field after his final Test match against Australia in Sydney during England’s recent 5-0 Ashes defeat.
He wrote: “So sad that this will now be the last time I leave a field in an England shirt.
“Incredibly overwhelmed by the support overnight! Thank you so much. I love England and I honestly hope they have every success in the future.”
Meanwhile, Pietersen’s wife, British pop star Jessica Taylor, took to Twitter to criticise former England bowler Dominic Cork for claiming that Pietersen had clashed with captain Alastair Cook during the Australia tour.
“Dominic Cork — there was no ‘squaring up’ to Alastair Cook or ‘off-field antics’ in Australia — you are lying, plain & simple,” she wrote.
She later added: “Regurgitating rumour & spinning it as fact is not what I’d call responsible journalism. The public deserve so much better - the truth.”
Cork had told Sky Sports News that there was “nearly a dust-up, a fight” between Pietersen and Cook, but former England captain Michael Vaughan rubbished his claims.
“With the way England were playing I am sure players had lots of strong debate in the Dressing Room,” Vaughan wrote on Twitter. “But squaring up??? #Nonsense.”
With 13,797 runs to his name, Pietersen bows out as England’s all-time leading scorer across all formats of the game. However, his outspoken personality and on-pitch single-mindedness made him a polarising figure, with former England players divided in their reactions to the news of his axing.
Vaughan wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Pietersen’s sacking was “preposterous”, but former fast bowler Bob Willis said that he had “disrupted every single dressing room he’s been in”.
Pietersen’s one-time adversary Shane Warne, the former Australia spinner, branded the decision to end his international career “a disgrace”.
“I also just heard the sad news re KP that he has played his last game for England, to me it’s a disgrace & a joke! The ECB is in a shambles,” Warne wrote on Twitter.
While former team-mate Matthew Hoggard accepted that Pietersen was not the most popular member of the England camp, he felt that a way to harness his flamboyant talents should have been found.AFP
Former England captain Michael Vaughan:
“I think the @ECB_cricket have to explain to everyone exactly what @KP24 has done so we can all have clarity and reasoning .. I think the @ECB_cricket have to explain to everyone exactly what @KP24 has done so we can all have clarity and reasoning .. I care about the England team and that’s why I want all the best players in the side. Its sad that we can’t manage someone like @KP24”
Former England captain Michael Atherton:
“It was coming, I think. There was a unanimity of views there from the people that count, so ultimately I think Kevin Pietersen found himself friendless. He had no allies amongst the management, the hierarchy and the senior players as well because Paul Downton would have been taking soundings from them at the end of the Ashes tour. It was a pretty horrific Ashes tour and there have been a few victims along the way, but I think he just found himself friendless and with no allies.”
Former England captain Alec Stewart:
“At times you could call him a maverick cricketer, but he’s a match-winner, a natural born winner and a game changer. I am sure there will be many England fans who see this as a shameful decision but it’s a decision he will have to accept and we within the game of cricket have to accept. I do not know the full facts but as an England fan I’d want my best players playing for England, to give us the best chance of winning. Part of managing is not just coaching but creating a good environment and not letting these things get to a head.”
Former England all-rounder Ian Botham:
“I think everyone needs to remember what a terrific player he has been and the entertainment he has given. I think it’s about time the ECB put out an official statement so we all know what is going on. There have been a lot of Chinese whispers, a lot of ex-players speculating. I don’t know what has happened. I don’t think anybody does. He is one of the best players the country has ever had. His career has been terminated. Well why not tell us why? And don’t give us the one-liner ‘we are moving on, we’re doing this, we’re doing that.’ He is 33, not 43”
Former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne:
“I also just heard the sad news re KP that he has played his last game for England, to me it’s a disgrace & a joke ! The ECB is in a shambles”
Former England captain Nasser Hussain:
“There must have been things happening behind the scenes that Flower and Cook weren’t amused with and it would be nice to know from the ECB - if you’re going to axe one of your best players - what those things are.”
