On this day in 2014: England close door on Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen’s England career effectively ended on this day in 2014 after he was left out of the tour of the Caribbean and not included in the squad for the ICC World Twenty20.

The decision by the England and Wales Cricket Board to focus on the “long term” was made after a 5-0 Ashes defeat in Australia a month earlier.

Pietersen had top scored for England on the miserable tour down under, but Andy Flower resigned from his role as Test team director and limited-overs coach Ashley Giles decided along with captain Alastair Cook and new managing director Paul Downton to move on from the maverick batter.

Only 16 months earlier, the process to reintegrate Pietersen back into the set-up had started after a controversial home series with South Africa in the summer of 2022 where it was discovered he had been messaging members of the tourists’ squad about Flower and then-captain Andrew Strauss.

After Pietersen played a key role in a historic series win in India and featured away to New Zealand, he starred in the 2013 Ashes, which ended 3-0 to England after he scored 388 runs.

The disastrous return Ashes months later in Australia was littered with reports of issues in the dressing room, for which Pietersen paid the price when he was not selected for tour of the Caribbean or the ICC World Twenty20 squad.

At the time, Pietersen said in a statement: “Playing cricket for my country has been an honour. Every time I pulled on the England shirt was a moment of huge pride for me and that is something that will live with me forever.

“Although I am obviously very sad the incredible journey has come to an end, I’m also hugely proud of what we, as a team, have achieved over the past nine years.

“I believe I have a great deal still to give as a cricketer. I will continue to play but deeply regret that it won’t be for England.”

Ex-captain Pietersen finished with 8,181 runs in 104 Tests, including 23 centuries and retired from all forms of cricket in 2018.