Andrew Strauss ‘let down’ by Kevin Pietersen as texts row overshadows Lord’s Test

Kevin Pietersen can say goodbye to his chances of being picked by England for the defence of their ICC World Twenty­20 crown.

The South Africa-born batsman was dropped for the must-win Lord’s Test against his native country for failing to apologise for texts sent to opposition players during the drawn match at Headingley.

The England and Wales Cricket Board are concerned as to the content of those messages and whether they were derogatory about Pietersen’s team-mates or captain Andrew Strauss.

England’s preparations have therefore been compromised for a match today in which they must beat South Africa to salvage an Investec series draw and retain their world No 1 status.

Strauss inevitably found himself responding to the latest developments in the Pietersen controversy on the eve of his 100th Test on his home ground.

In his captain’s press conference, Strauss’ exasperation was clear as he admitted to feeling “let down” by Pietersen.

His caution was also notable as he described an apology sent by Pietersen’s agent via lawyers to the ECB on Tuesday night as the “first step” in a situation where time will have to be part of the healing process to try to ensure lost trust is rebuilt.

Pietersen, who is thought to be abroad on holiday after being ruled unavailable for Surrey this week, can be left in little doubt that he is on the outside of the England team and faces a long road back – one that will not be trodden before England must confirm their final 15 to the International Cricket Council on Saturday to travel to Sri Lanka for the World Twenty20.

“I feel a little bit let down by Kevin, if I’m honest,” said Strauss. “But this isn’t an issue between me and Kevin. It’s a broader issue than that and it’s very important that I act in the best interests of England cricket team.

“It’s not a personal thing. I’ve always got on very well with Kevin, which is why some of the stuff has been quite surprising to me.”

With stakes so high at HQ, Strauss cannot afford anyone in his team to be distracted by a saga which has run through the summer – in the form of Pietersen’s contract wrangles with the ECB – but went into overdrive when the batsman put his England career in jeopardy by refusing to provide assurances that Lord’s would not be his last match.

In the event, he has not even got this far. If the 32-year-old is to return for his adopted country at any point, it seems his first acknowledgment of apparent contrition may have begun the process but nothing more.

“It’s a step forward, it’s a step in the right direction,” said Strauss. “But this issue hasn’t just been about the text messages.

“There’s been a bit more of a broader issue about trust and mutual respect, and that issue I’m very keen to resolve. It’s not going to be resolved overnight. If we’re going to resolve those issues we need to do it face to face, away from the media spotlight and away from PR companies and press releases. That’s not helping any of us at this stage.

“Those are the steps we need to tackle going forward, and for the next five or six days my focus has got to be on the game of cricket that we’re playing this week – and it will be.”

Strauss would dearly love, of course, to mark that century of matches – and 50th as captain – with victory at the ground where he made a hundred on his Test debut.

To do that, and to underpin ongoing success too, he knows the team ethos so prized by him and coach Andy Flower is key.

“I think the catalyst for all this was obviously Kevin’s press conference after the Headingley Test match… up to then it was a dispute between Kevin and the board over his availability for the IPL and a number of other points,” Strauss said.

“But once the players come involved in it I certainly become very protective of that environment – of the values by which we live and treat each other – and I’m willing to remain vigilant about that because I think it’s central to why we’ve become a very good side.

“These are the issues that are on the table at the moment that we can’t sweep under the carpet. I hope there is a way of addressing them.

“If we are going to resolve these issues everyone’s got to take a bit of a long, hard look at how things have developed over the last couple of weeks in particular and say ‘have we all done everything we can to avoid this?’ We’re all going to be required to look at it that way.

“I would like Kevin to play for England again but only if we resolve the issues we need to resolve,” he said. “I personally think it’s not a process that can be finished overnight.”