Kevin Pietersen’s bad timing disappoints Hugh Morris – Cricket News Update
Prolific England batsman Kevin Pietersen’s retirement from limited-over formats of international cricket just three months before the ICC World T20 Championship left not only the fans but also the England and Wales Cricket Board in utter
disbelief.
Questioning the timing of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hugh-Morris-c63550 expressed sheer disappointment over KP’s apparently early retirement.
"The ECB is disappointed by the timing of Kevin's decision less than four months before we defend our ICC World Twenty20 title," lamented the ECB director, Morris.
The fourth edition of the esteemed World T20 championship will be held in Sri Lanka in September this year and England will be defending the title. Kevin Pietersen played vital role in England’s successful T20 campaign in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in
2010, as the Poms clinched their first ever trophy in a tournament played under http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625’s flagship.
The 31-year-old http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 later this year. However, the offer was turned down
by the board as Pietersen was adamant to pull out of ODI cricket with immediate effect and a clause in ECB central contracts states that any player who makes himself unavailable for any of the limited overs format of international cricket is automatically
ruled out of the selection for the other format as well, be it an ODI or T20.
Defending ECB’s policy, Morris said, “As the programming and planning for ODI and T20 format cricket are very closely linked we have a selection policy that means that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one-day formats,
rules himself out of consideration for both formats.”
Kevin Pietersen, a former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 skipper, on Thursday announced retirement from international limited-overs cricket, bringing to a close an 8-year-long ODI career, which saw him playing 127 One Day Internationals and 36 T20 Internationals.
The lanky Natal-born top-order batsman however, remains available for the Test cricket.
Lavishing praise on the hard-hitting top-order batsman, Morris hoped to see KP flourishing in the Test format of the game.
"Kevin is a world-class player and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his efforts and we look forward to his continued contributions to the Test match side,” said the ECB director.
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