Cook hints at Pietersen’s impending comeback – Cricket News Update
Dropping strong hints regarding the prospect of exiled England batsman Kevin Pietersen’s impending return to the team, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AN-Cook-c1026 has confirmed that the process of reintegrating the hard-hitting batsman into the
England team’s set-up is well on its way, and reiterated the need to move forward and leave the issue behind.
“The process is well on the way,” Cook said. “... the meetings are going on and hopefully the best result will come from them.
“We do need to draw a line in the sand at some stage for the sake of English cricket. We need to move forward as a team,” he stressed.
Pietersen’s differences with the England and Wales Cricket Board led to a long-standing tiff which boiled over during South Africa’s tour of England earlier this year, when the right-hander was revealed to have sent “provocative” text messages to members
of the South African squad during the 3-match Test series between the two teams.
Pietersen was subsequently dropped from the squad for the final Test match (with the Poms going on to lose the series), as well as being excluded from the line-up for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 (where England struggled, in vain, to defend their
title). He was also not named in the squad for the Poms’ upcoming tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750.
While talks between Pietersen and the ECB eventually led to a resolution, the 32-year-old still needs to undergo a “reintegration” programme before he can be considered for national selection. While media reports are rife with speculation regarding the timing
of Pietersen’s comeback, and whether he’ll make it back in time for the India tour in November, Cook insisted that it was a crucial decision which could not be rushed.
“It's a very important decision that we've got to get right for the sake of the England side moving forward,” said Cook, who took up the post of Test skipper after the resignation of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AJ-Strauss-c964 earlier this year. “It's important we don't rush this process
so we can get the best result. We want all our world-class players playing for England.”
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