One of the most fractious, and at times bizarre, periods in the recent history of English cricket ended when Kevin Pietersen was added to England's squad for the tour to India.
One of the most fractious, and at times bizarre, periods in the recent history of English cricket ended on Thursday when Kevin Pietersen was added to England's squad for the tour to India.
A tale of BlackBerry messages, a fake Twitter account, celebrity -backers, legal threats and a 'reintegration' process that included a missed flight from South Africa and meetings in Oxford culminated with Pietersen being given one final chance. He will join up with England as soon as his commitments at the Twenty20 Champions League in South Africa are over, after his return was approved by a meeting of the England and Wales Cricket Board's executive board.
The ECB confirmed the decision was made after Pietersen met with Alastair Cook, Andy Flower and senior players, including Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann, this week. It is thought Cook, the new Test captain, was instrumental in -him returning.
"We were keen that Kevin should hold a series of face-to-face meetings with team management and senior players before the Test squad departs for the UAE and India next week," said Hugh Morris, the England team director. "The meetings were constructive and cordial and all outstanding issues have been resolved. All the England players and management are now keen to draw a line under this matter and fully focus on the cricketing challenge that lies ahead in India."
Two weeks ago Pietersen was awarded a four-month central contract but the next step, a return to the Test squad, was dependent on him showing commitment and making the long trip back from South Africa this week during a short break in the Champions League calendar.
The meetings were designed to heal rifts and for Flower to restate the team ethos to Pietersen. Although he is back in the squad, Flower and the management will be keeping a close eye on him. Following such a public split, he will not be given another chance if there is a repeat.
Pietersen is at his best when he has a point to prove and England know his full worth, particularly in the kind of conditions they have struggled to master for generations.
With Ian Bell set to miss the second Test against India in Mumbai due to the birth of his first child, the England management will need all the experience they can muster against India. Bell's paternity leave was known when the squad was first selected and Pietersen was left out, but pragmatism on both sides appears to have calmed the situation.
Pietersen needs England and England need him. He will slot into his old position at No?4, leaving Nick Compton and Joe Root, the two uncapped players in the squad, to fight for the opening role made vacant by the retirement of Andrew Strauss.
Pietersen is one of only two batsmen in the squad to average more than 40 in Test cricket in India (the other is Cook), but the decision was not based on statistics or past deeds.
His relationship with England deteriorated steadily after his return from the Indian Premier League in May where he earned a big salary and adulation for his performances. It was strained by his surprise decision to retire from one-day cricket as he looked to negotiate a bigger window for playing in the IPL. But the problems peaked after the Headingley Test when he uttered the ill-advised line that it is "tough being me" in the England dressing room. When it emerged a few days later he had exchanged provocative messages about Andrew Strauss with the South African team, it set him on course for the international -wilderness.
The issue drained England at a time when their No?1 Test status was on the line as well as the defence of their World Twenty20 crown.
Flower accepted he made a mistake and should have "nipped in the bud" the fake Twitter account parodying Pietersen, which the batsman believed was the work of England team-mates. Senior players will also have perhaps realised it was not a one-sided issue.
The next big step is for Flower to maintain a working relationship with Pietersen until after the next World Cup in 2015.
England leave for a training camp in Dubai on October 25 arriving in India four days later with their first warm-up match on Nov 3. The Champions League final is on October 28.
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