Pietersen left out of limited-over squads
September 01, 2010 10:12:33 UK
Kevin Pietersen has been dropped from England's squads for the T20 and ODI series against Pakistan in an attempt to regain his form before this winter's Ashes.
The out-of-form batsman has been prescribed a loan move to Surrey where he will hopefully improve his game, while sitting out England's limited-overs matches.
England are 1.40 to win the two-match T20 series, with opponents Pakistan 3.00.
However, the news of Pietersen's omission was not broken by the ECB but by the player himself via a foul-mouthed twitter rant.
Several hours before the England and Wales Cricket Board announced the 12-man Twenty20 and 14-man ODI squads yesterday afternoon, Pietersen wrote: "Done for the rest of the summer!!
"Man of the World Cup T20 and dropped from the T20 side too."
Pietersen then proceeded to use a four letter expletive.
The tweet was taken down within a matter of seconds, but by then it was too late to stop the surprising news travelling fast.
National selector Geoff Miller confirmed he would speak to Pietersen about the incident but also made it clear every effort will be made to help the 30-year-old regain his best form.
I fully anticipate seeing Kevin Pietersen back to the way he was when he dominated opposition attacks.
Geoff Miller
The squad for this winter's Ashes is expected to be announced at the end of this month, and Miller said: "We know KP is a high-quality international player.
"But his form has not been where he would have wanted it to be, so we've given him the opportunity to get some middle practice - with the Ashes in mind."
Explaining the decision to leave Pietersen out yesterday, Miller added: "We've taken everything into account regarding this series and an arduous winter to come.
"I'd expect Kevin to be disappointed.
"We feel we've made the right decision - because we need him to get his form back and we think he will do that playing some county cricket.
"We have to thank Surrey for accepting the request and we think that will benefit him more than some ODIs - and I know he will fight his way back to be an integral part of the England side."
Pietersen will have to fight for his place, like everyone else.
"I fully anticipate seeing Kevin Pietersen back to the way he was when he dominated opposition attacks," said Miller.
"We will give people a real fair crack of the whip, and I think we've done that with Kevin as well.
"There are a few players who will be fighting to get into that side, and Kevin will be one of those."
Betting for the Ashes Series 2010/11 has Australia at 1213.00, with England 1.25 and the draw 3.75.
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