No place for Pietersen in Lord's Test

Kevin Pietersen's attempt to sway the selectors ahead of Thursday's third and final Test against South Africa fell on deaf ears this weekend, as he was omitted from England's squad for failing to disclose the nature of a series of text messages he is understood to have sent to members of the South African team.

Jonny Bairstow has instead been recalled for a match that England must win to retain their No. 1 Test status. This despite the squad announcement being delayed by six hours in a last-ditch attempt to iron out the differences between Pietersen and his team-mates.

"During the past week we have had several discussions with Kevin Pietersen and his advisers," said England's managing director, Hugh Morris. "Following a constructive meeting, it was agreed that a number of actions needed to be completed to re-engage Kevin within the England dressing room.

"A fundamental item was to confirm publicly that no derogatory texts had been sent by Kevin to the South African team. This has not been forthcoming despite clear timelines being set to allow the selectors to pick the squad for the third Investec Test match.

"We provided an additional six hours this morning to provide every opportunity for agreement to be reached but regrettably this has not been possible.

Pietersen responded to the news with a brief statement. "None of this constitutes the end of my career as an international cricketer," he said. "To say I am gutted is an understatement... The entire episode has been demoralising for me and my family.

"The video I released was my way to bring closure to the issues I had at that time. I stand by every word I said in the video. I wish the team - and Straussy in particular - every success next week."

Squad: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, James Taylor, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions.

Date: 13/08/2012 10:29:13 by AMiller
In: Today | Northamptonshire | Leicestershire |