By Greg Pearson
Despite a series of apologies, the international career of English cricketer Kevin Pietersen may be over.
The South African-born batsman has been dropped for the third test against the Proteas starting tomorrow, after allegedly sending derogatory text messages about his English team mates to the opposition.
Pietersen should be preparing for a match that will decide the best team in test cricket – instead, his captain has been left to deal with the very public airing of the team's dirty laundry.
"It's one of the core values of our team that what goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room," says Andrew Strauss. "Any time anyone has fallen foul of that they've been disciplined, and rightly so."
That disciplining came after Pietersen followed up a man-of-the-match performance in the second test, with comments hinting at a division within the England dressing room, prompting a nine-minute long online apology.
"I was in an emotional state, I did think there was a possibility it could be my penultimate test, I said things I probably shouldn't have said."
But he refused to deny allegations he sent text messages critical of Strauss and England coach Andy Flower to friends in the South African camp, which soon overshadowed the build up to the third test.
But Pietersen's absence from the match isn't phasing his team mates. While initially gagged from commenting, Tim Brensnan was finally allowed to say this: "A talented player is being replaced by another talented player – why should we miss certain individual just because he's unavailable for selection?"
The outspoken batsman is already out of favour for his decision to play in the lucrative IPL instead of limited overs internationals, but with the England Twenty20 World Cup team named this weekend, now he wants back in.
"I'm not going anywhere, I want to commit to all forms of cricket for England, because I love playing for England," he says.
England may make their feelings on that known as early as tonight.
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