Mike Atherton: ECB chiefs right to get tough with Kevin Pietersen

 
1 June 2012

Former England captain Mike Atherton today praised cricket chiefs for standing up to Kevin Pietersen.

The batsman announced his retirement from international one-day cricket yesterday, a decision which angered the England and Wales cricket board.

Pietersen, 31, told the ECB he wanted to play in England’s defence of their Twenty20 World crown in Sri Lanka this September but his contract says he must make himself available for all forms of the one-day game.

Atherton said in his Times column today: “The ECB should be congratulated for refusing to allow Pietersen to come and go as he pleased. It needed to draw a line in the sand — even if that meant losing a star player.”

Pietersen’s relationship with the ECB has been brittle since he was axed as captain in January 2009 and further deteriorated when he was fined for criticising Sky commentator Nick Knight, a former England player, on Twitter earlier this month.

Married to former Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor and with a young son, Dylan, Pietersen has tired of the one-day fixtures which come at the end of long England tours.

But the ECB were mindful that Pietersen was happy to jet to India and play for the Delhi Daredevils immediately after their winter schedule in Sri Lanka.

It is likely that Pietersen will now make himself available for all manner of T20 tournaments around the world.

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