Shut your eyes and think of England.

[SaintPowelly]

I don't think "everyone hated him", I think alot of people put up with him, and whilst KP was scoring runs and the team was winning it was less of an issue.

Has KP been made a scapegoat ? probably.
Has KP been treated unfairly ? possibly
Is there smoke without fire ? certainly not.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Why? KP was the demon of the dressing room, everyone hated him, all the public apparently hated him...... if that was true, it wouldnt have mattered.

Or, alternatively, that was all nonsense, and people actually quite liked him

They needn't have been so enthusiastic. Only Root's comment could be interpreted as a glib emollient. Though I'm not assuming it was. Why didn't his team mates offer blandishments in 2012? The reaction in 2013 has been totally different.

[KipperJohn]

Probably the most important decision any board, in any organisation, has to make is the appointment of its CEO/Managing Director.

In about 18 months time we' shall know whether or not England have made any significant progress -that won't be just down to the players and Moores etc it goes all the way back to Downton's appointment.

I am distinctly unimpressed so far - and there will be more twists and turns in the ECB/KP mess - which will only serve as a distraction to the players - the elephant is apparently still in the room and unlikely to disappear any time soon.

If this constitutes a thorough review of the Ashes debacle then, quite frankly, it's pathetic.

Don't suppose they will publish a review - probably because it doesn't exist.

After all, we only pay their wages - what rights have we got?

[sussexpob]

Simon Jones wife is having a blast on Twitter..... saying that KP was apparently the only person from the England team to phone him when he left the team to find out if he was alright. Other posts on Twitter suggest that CLS ticket sales were very poor for this ODI, suggestions of a little bit of weariness in fans?

[D/L]

Here we go again - poring over the minutiae of alleged conversations, even trying to detect the tone of voice from something written, in a desperate attempt to defend Pietersen.

Actions speak louder than things people say were said about Pietersen or what they say he had said or done (when in fact many of them may be complete fabrications) and Pietersen actions should have seen him sacked when he admitted to the sending and the nature of those texts.

[KipperJohn]

Paul Downton 'explaining' about KP to the media is somewhat akin to Rolf Harris telling a jury about his didgeridoo.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Things seem to be getting worse for the ECB and Downton in particular.

[yuppie]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cricket/27645389

The ECB quite simply are a joke. They want to show how unprofessional they are at every opportunity. How can an organisation not keep to its confidentiallity agreement whilst also claiming a player they kicked out of the team was uninterested and easily distracted. Perhaps the ECB should not be so easily distracted....

[D/L]

Yes, it seems that Downton has rather foolishly spoken out of turn and been forced to apologise.

[KipperJohn]

For whatever reason, the ECB are seeking to justify their decision on KP at every opportunity. It's backfired - they may have issued an apology but that has no substance in law.

It doesn't mean KP still can't sue for breach of the confidentiality agreement. I expect both sides lawyers are crawling all over this whilst the ECB sweats.

Whether is was his captaincy/dismissal or other events, the reception for Cook at Lord's sounded pretty lukewarm. Downton and Co. have put him right in the firing line.

[D/L]

Yes, Downton not making it clear before the interview that he would answer no questions about Pietersen calls his, and the ECB's, judgment into question.

[sussexpob]

I would have thought the right thing here would be to hand his notice in, but there you go.

[SaintPowelly]

And now KP is speaking about the ECB :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/27759380

I thought neither side was meant to say ANYTHING ?

[D/L]

"Pietersen also said in the column:

•England should not have appointed someone who had already been coach of the national team.
•That he "never had any issues" with Moores during their time as captain and coach.
•That his relationship with other players in the England side "was fine" and there were "no issues".
•But he was relieved "to be out of the dressing room" because "it was not a pleasant place in Australia". "

Many would call into question the honesty of at least 2 of those statements and the logic behind one of them.

[hopeforthebest]

It would be fun to see KP appear on the players balcony on Thursday.