Pietersen axed because team need to ‘trust each other’

Tuesday, 11 February 2014 00:43 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Kevin Pietersen’s international career was ended because captain Alastair Cook needed to be able to trust and rely on the support of all his players, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Sunday. The controversial batsman’s England career finished on Tuesday when he was left out of the squad for this month’s one-day tour of West Indies and the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh in March. “The team needs to rebuild after the whitewash in Australia,” the ECB said in a statement, referring to the 5-0 test defeat Down Under. “To do that we must invest in our captain Alastair Cook and we must support him in creating a culture in which we can be confident he will have the full support of all players, with everyone pulling in the same direction and able to trust each other.” “It is for those reasons we have decided to move on without Kevin Pietersen.” The ECB had come under-fire for not disclosing the reasons for sacking Pietersen, with friends of the South African-born 33-year-old, current and former players and media commentators wading into the debate.