Kevin Pietersen has apologised for sending text messages to South African players, criticising his England teammates, in a bid to find his way back to the England set-up ahead of the World T20 in September.
Former England player and current executive director at Surrey, Alec Stewart, confirmed Pietersen had apologised to the England and Wales Cricket Board. "I'm hearing he's now apologised but hasn't had any confirmation back from the ECB," Stewart told BBC Radio 5.
England dropped Pietersen from the final Test against South Africa after the controversy-prone batsman sent texts to rival South African players, criticizing his captain Andrew Strauss.
The ECB asked Pietersen to make a public apology or provide evidence that he had not sent any messages. After the 32-year-old hesitated on both fronts, the ECB decided to omit his name from the Test squad. The apology, however, opens up the chances of England choosing Pietersen for the T20 squad, which needs to be named by Saturday.
But the biggest hurdle for Pietersen making a comeback will be the obvious problems he has created within the dressing room of the England team. Strauss, talking to former England captain Nasser Hussain in an interview to be aired on Sky Sports during the lunch break of England's third Test against South Africa, which will also be Strauss' 100th Test match, spoke of the deterioration of the relationship between Pietersen and the rest of the squad as well as the board.
"I'm a big believer in not airing dirty laundry in public," Strauss said in an excerpt. "It's one of our core values in our team that what goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room.
"Any time anyone has fallen foul of that they have been disciplined -- and rightly so. It's about mutual respect and trust, and that is a core issue that is central to resolving this.
"I've always got on with Kevin. I've tried to be honest with him; he's been honest with me. That's why this has all been a bit of a surprise to me.
"I think the discontent that Kevin had with the board over his contract situation was one that the players didn't get involved in -- and I didn't really get involved in, if I'm honest.
"But over the last week I have had to get involved because there have been issues a little bit more central to his relationship with the other players and our ability to perform out in the middle."
Stuart Broad made a statement, prior to the news of Pietersen apologizing, denying any involvement in the KP Genius Twitter account, which was run by his friend Richard Bailey. "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," Broad said.
Jonny Bairstow has been brought in as Pietersen's replacement for the final Test, and Tim Bresnan believes the team will not miss the 32-year-old's services.
"It's one of those things where a talented player is being replaced by another," the all-rounder said.
"So why should we miss a certain individual because he's unavailable for selection?"
South Africa's Jacques Kallis, however, thinks Pietersen is too good a player to be left out for long. "I'm sure they'll sort it out," he said. "He's too good a player to stay out of the international scene.
"I've no doubts they'll come to an agreement and something will be sorted out. These sorts of things are going to happen throughout his career, a few things have happened.
"I don't think it'll affect him, I think he'll bounce back and I think he's still got a lot of cricket ahead of him."
