KP responds: I thought I had a ‘clean slate’

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has responded on Twitter to England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves, who on Friday had said he never promised Pietersen a return to the England side.

Graves released a statement on Friday saying that at no point did he guarantee the batsman would get back in the side, and Pietersen took issue with that. The player said he never expected to be handed a place, just a 'clean slate'.

There was confusion around what exactly Graves had meant when he told Pietersen, months ago, to go back to county cricket and score some runs, and he could them be in line for a recall. Many took that to mean he'd be handed a place.

But Pietersen said on Saturday that he understood it to mean he'd be allowed to earn his place back, which was then retracted by the ECB when they ruled out a return for him, due to 'trust issues' with ECB director Andrew Strauss.

Cricket journalist Elizabeth Ammon tweeted: "KP didn't claim that Graves had made guarantees. Nowhere did anyone say he WOULD be selected."

Pietersen immediately retweeted that, and added: "Exactly – no one is guaranteed selection. I was told there was a CLEAN SLATE. I wanted to earn my place back."

Earlier in the week, Pietersen accused the ECB of deceiving him, saying they said he would get a chance to earn his place back if he scored county runs, which he gave up an IPL contract to do. He was told his chance was null and void on the day he scored a triple century for Surrey.

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