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Kevin Pietersen has apologised to the ECB over the derogatory text
messages that he sent about members of the England dressing room to
South Africa players in a last-ditch attempt to gain forgiveness and be
selected for World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.
Pietersen and his representatives were waiting on Tuesday evening for
the ECB to respond to his gesture with Saturday's deadline for naming
England's World Twenty20 party looming ever closer.
The apology presumably constituted an admission of guilt and as such
leaves him at risk of a heavy fine, a suspension or both. If England's
managing director, Hugh Morris, continues to pursue a hard line it could
automatically rule him out of a tournament in which he desperately
wants to take part.
The ECB would make no official comment on Tuesday night, perhaps
recognising that leaks in the past have been unhelpful in the
reconciliation process.
ESPNcricinfo understands a decision, nevertheless, is expected on
Wednesday, at which point extensive statements from both sides can be
anticipated. There was a growing sense at Lord's of the need to settle
the issue before the final Test against South Africa at Lord's which
begins on Thursday. England, 1-0 down in the series, need to win the
Test to retain their status as the No 1 Test side in the world.
The ECB have failed to make Pietersen available for Surrey in their
vital relegation championship match against Middlesex, at the Oval,
beginning on Wednesday, as both parties recognised that it would be
inappropriate as confidential negotiations were reaching a delicate
stage.
The decision for the ECB was when to replace punishment with rehabilitation.
In another development in the Pietersen soap opera, Stuart Broad
issued a statement denying any part in the creation of a parody Twitter
account that so infuriated Pietersen and led him to suspect that his
England team-mates were secretly deriding him.
Broad, the England Twenty20 International captain, and Alex Hales, who
took Pietersen's place at the top of the order in England's T20 side,
were both alleged to have been involved in the account by Pietersen's
friend, the chatshow host Piers Morgan.
The real creator of the parody account, Richard Bailey, came forward on
Monday and not only apologised for the trouble he had caused, but
clarified that he had worked alone. While Bailey is a friend of Broad
and Hales, all parties insist that no professional players were in any
way involved either in setting up the account or supplying information.
"Following last night's statement by Mr Richard Bailey that he was
responsible for creating a parody Twitter account in Kevin Pietersen's
name, I would like to confirm that I had no involvement in this
whatsoever," Broad said
"I met with the Managing Director, England Cricket, Hugh Morris this
morning and assured him that I did not play any role in the creation of
this account or provide Mr Bailey with any information regarding Kevin
Pietersen or the England team.
"As has been widely reported Mr Bailey is a friend of mine, but we had
no conversations regarding this issue at all and I am pleased that he
has now decided to close the parody account down."
Broad's words echo the results of an ESPNcricinfo investigations last week
that identified the creator of the parody account, but found no
evidence that any England player had been actively involved in it at any
stage. That information was communicated to senior officials of the
ECB.
Morris added: "Having discussed this matter with Stuart, I am fully
satisfied that he acted in a professional manner at all times and did
not breach any confidences regarding fellow England players.
"ECB also accepts the apology Mr Bailey offered last night to the
England team via his Twitter account and his re-assurances that no
professional cricketers were involved in the creation of this site."
David Hopps is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo and George Dobell is senior correspondent
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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