Kevin Pietersen will have to face a disciplinary hearing over his foul-mouthed Tweet - but can count on the support of England as they try to ensure he regains his best form in time for the Ashes.

England coach Andy Flower has confirmed the reasoning, and goodwill, behind dropping Pietersen from England's NatWest Twenty20 and one-day international squads so that he can instead make the most of a loan spell for the rest of the summer at Surrey.

But he made it clear too that Pietersen's unfortunate Tweet to the world - announcing he had been dropped several hours before England and Wales Cricket Board confirmation, and using an obscenity for good measure - will result in an official hearing.

"He says he made a bit of a mistake, and I'll take him at his word," said Flower.

"But still there'll be a disciplinary hearing about that, because we can't have situations like that happening."

Former England Under-19s captain Azeem Rafiq was banned for a month this summer for a similar, arguably worse, Twitter indiscretion.

Flower, meanwhile, knows he and his fellow selectors are dealing in high stakes when they try to coax a batsman of Pietersen's world class back to his best form. "Of course, it was a difficult call," he said.

"When you're making decisions about people's careers and their lives it always is difficult - and you've got to do it responsibly.

"The intent, and reasons behind that non-selection, are very simple.

"In one-day internationals, Kevin has under-performed recently - over the last 12 to 24 months.

"He acknowledges that - and with regard to the Twenty20s, there is a four-day game starting at The Oval on the day that the second Twenty20 is played.

"In our opinion, it would be more important for Kevin to play that four-day game and then the following one - rather than being involved in limited-overs cricket - with the priority being getting him into form and confidence for the Ashes."

Pietersen has been regarded by many as a special player ever since his emergence on the world scene in the 2005 Ashes, and has been described as England's "genius" by at least one senior player.

"Kevin's a superb player and he's going through a hard time at the moment," said Flower.

"The coaching staff and his fellow players have been working really tirelessly and hard with him - and he's been working very hard himself.

"We hope that this spell, playing a couple of first-class games, as opposed to playing limited-overs cricket just with us will help him get some of that confidence back."

More immediately, England must keep their focus on cricket at a time of crisis in their sport - and with little time to draw breath before tomorrow's first Twenty20 match against Pakistan in Cardiff.

The 'spot-fixing' controversy has erupted very close to home, with three members of the opposition no longer with the team and suspended by the International Cricket Council following allegations in last weekend's News of the World.

Flower is unsure yet whether the intrigue, which has dominated news and sports bulletins over the past week, has the capacity to cast the same giant shadow over cricket as the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal did a decade ago. "It's a bit early to say whether it's a crisis of those proportions," he said.

"I think the way we have to approach it is certainly not to speculate what might happen this weekend but be prepared to adapt, as we always have to."