Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith was among several pundits who slammed Andrew Strauss’s decision to maintain Kevin Pietersen’s international exile, saying it had made English cricket a “laughing stock”.
Strauss, one of several England captains whose time as skipper came to an end after a series against a Proteas side led by Smith, has recently been installed as England’s director of cricket.
On Tuesday, Strauss said Pietersen would remain in the international wilderness, with the South Africa-born batsman exiled from the England squad ever since the team returned from a 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia last year.
Strauss, whose final months as England captain in 2012 were clouded by “provocative” texts sent by Pietersen to Proteas players, said a “massive trust issue” lay at the heart of his decision.
Pietersen, 34, had been given hope of a Test return when new England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves said he would be considered if he made enough runs in county cricket.
But just hours after he scored a maiden triple century for Surrey on Monday, Strauss met with Pietersen to tell him to forget about playing for England this season.
Yet Tuesday also saw Strauss announce that he’d offered Pietersen a role as an advisor to the one-day side which the star batsman had turned down.
“I see the head boy is making English cricket the laughing stock again! #StraussLogic”, tweeted Smith.
Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who played in the same 2005 Ashes-winning side as Pietersen, said players became more mature as they got older.
“I have no agenda in this,” Flintoff tweeted. “I thought If @KP24 (Pietersen) was to play again he should fight his way back in which he has, as for personality he can be high maintenance then again so was I, but you do grow up and change .
“I wish I had the chance to play in my mid 30’s reckon I’d have been better!,” added Flintoff, whose international career was cut short by injury.
– ‘Wild goose chase’ –
Meanwhile several former England captains criticised the way in which Pietersen had been given the incentive of a recall only to have it taken away.
“I don’t often feel sorry for Kevin Pietersen – but having been told by the chairman-elect to go and score runs in the County Championship if he wants to get back in the England side, Kevin’s been sent on a wild goose chase,” Bob Willis told Sky Sports.
“It’s incredible. (Pietersen) is getting one set of guides from the new chairman of the ECB and clearly the new director of cricket doesn’t want him anywhere near the team.”
Willis’s view was endorsed by Nasser Hussain, who said there had been a “shambles of mixed messages coming out of the ECB”.
Strauss’s announcement came just days after the botched sacking of Peter Moores as England coach.
“After the appalling way the Peter Moores sacking was handled, that he was the last to know, I think this is another faux pas by the ECB and they need to get their act together,” Willis added.
Alec Stewart, Pietersen’s director of cricket at Surrey, questioned how a new-look ECB hierarchy could have lost faith in the star batsman.
“I’d like to know who at the ECB doesn’t trust him because from when that (original) decision was made 14, 15, 16 months ago, there is now a new chairman (Graves), new chief exec (Tom Harrison), director of cricket and there now will be a new coach, so which individual or individuals don’t trust him?”
