Pietersen had nothing to do with Strauss’ retirement: Flower – Cricket News Update
England director of cricket http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Thomas-George-Burrows-c93472eam and management.
“I don’t think Pietersen is the main factor in this at all, and Strauss has said that publicly and privately to me and I believe him,” said Flower during an interview with the Big Issue magazine.
“Andrew spoke to me a few weeks ago and I knew he was going to go away for a few days to think. It was the right thing for him to do because he needed to get away from the hullabaloo of everything around here.”
As http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 geared up to defend their top Test and ODI team rankings against the visiting South Africans, they were faced with a major disturbance in the form of Kevin Pietersen, who sparked a massive controversy after the second Test at Headingley.
Despite having scored an impressive century (which eventually went in vain as the match ended on a draw), Pietersen called a post-match press conference during which he threatened to quit Test cricket (having already retired from international limited-overs cricket earlier this year) and slammed the England and Wales Cricket Board for not taking his demands and concerns (mostly regarding his desire to pick and choose international matches for the sake of participation in the Indian Premier League) into consideration. He also hinted at feeling ostracised in the England dressing room.
The conference put him on thin http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gareth-Berg-c1457 with the ECB, and Pietersen was not included in the XI for the final Test match. Amid disappointing performances which saw England conceding a 0-2 defeat in the Test series, in addition to losing their top spot on the rankings, it was discovered that the right-hander had sent provocative texts, alleged to be targeting Flower and Strauss, to members of the Proteas team.
The revelation saw Pietersen falling completely out of favour with the board, and he immediately released an apology via a YouTube video, asserting his allegiance to the England cricket team, in addition to making himself available for all formats once again.
However, the ECB remained cold, and shortly afterwards Strauss announced his retirement from professional cricket – a decision which many suspected to be motivated by Pietersen’s actions, although the skipper stated otherwise. Flower has also absolved the batsman of any role in the retirement, clarifying that Strauss had been out of form and unwilling to continue.
Since then, 32-year-old Pietrsen is expected to have a meeting lined up with Flower, to attempt a reconciliation between both parties. If the meeting is successful, further talks – with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AN-Cook-c1026, and Pietersen’s agent Adam Wheatley - will be arranged.
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