Strauss will demand to know the exact content of the text messages Pietersen sent to members of the South African team before he will accept him back into the side.
Andrew Strauss will demand to know the exact content of the text messages Kevin Pietersen sent to members of the South African team before he will accept him back into the side.
Pietersen and Strauss will hold face-to-face talks after this Test in a bid to find out if they can resolve the problems of the past week and work with each other again. A key element to that process will be Pietersen confessing to what he texted to his friends in the South African side. Strauss, said he feels "let down" by Pietersen and wants to hear from the man himself what has been circling as rumour and hearsay for the past week.
The texts are thought to contain an Afrikaans swear word describing Strauss, and his most obvious mode of dismissal. Pietersen yesterday issued an apology but only for sending "provocative" texts. Not good enough for England.
"If we are going to resolve those issues we need to do it face to face, away from the media spotlight and away from PR companies and press releases," said Strauss. "That is not helping any of us at this stage. This [apology] is a step in the right direction but this issue has not just been about the text messages. There has been a broader issue about trust and mutual respect. That issue I am keen to resolve but it is not going to be resolved overnight."
On Saturday England will have to formally submit their 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka and Pietersen's name will not be included. With a Test match to concentrate on, the management are putting the Pietersen issue on hold until after this match and it is believed the World Twenty20 squad has already been selected anyway, along with the squad for the one-day series against South Africa. It appears his best chance of appearing at the tournament will be as a commentator with sources indicating offers are on the table from television companies to work in Sri Lanka.
Pietersen has gone on holiday with his family to Europe and when he returns next week, England will have moved on to a one-day series against South Africa. Officials at the England and Wales Cricket Board will then begin the process of rebuilding the relationship between Pietersen, his captain and fellow England players.
"If we are going to resolve these issues everyone has to take a long hard look at how things have developed in the last week or two in particular and ask have we all done everything we can to avoid this happening," said Strauss. "I don't know how and when this is going to be resolved. My focus will be on the game of cricket for the next week. I personally think it is not a process that can be finished overnight.
"Cricketers are a forgiving bunch but we need to bring stuff out in the open. I have no idea, at the moment, how that process will work. I have not spent long thinking about it with very good reason. We have an important Test match coming up. Perhaps when the Test has finished and dust settled we can move forward. I am sure people in the ECB will be trying to do that in the next few days."
Strauss's press conference was delayed yesterday until the exact wording of Pietersen's apology was agreed by both parties. The word derogatory, used by the ECB over the past week, did not appear with Pietersen instead confessing to "provocative" messages constituting "banter between close friends". Strauss and Pietersen met on Friday to discuss the issue and England expected him to make a statement and then post his pre-recorded interview on YouTube saying he would like to play in all forms of the game.
Sources at the time indicated the matter had been resolved, Pietersen had agreed to apologise to his team-mates and he would play at Lord's But it all changed on Saturday evening when the video appeared without the apology or acknowledgement of the text messages. With South Africa refusing to co-operate and disclose the content of the messages - which nobody at the ECB has seen - Pietersen's fate for this Test was sealed.
"From our point of view it wasn't possible for him to play in this Test," said Strauss. "That was the decision the selectors took and we are very comfortable with the side we have picked. I feel a little bit let down by Kevin. This is not an issue between me and Kevin. It is a broader issue than that. It is important that I act in the best interests of the England team. It is not a personal thing. I have always got on very well with Kevin which is why some of the personal stuff has been quite surprising to me."
Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, angrily denied his team had set up Pietersen in an effort to force England's best player out of the side.
"The notion we have tried to nail Kevin and put things out in the media is ridiculous," he said. "I have never heard such a load of rubbish. On this trip we have played our cards close to our chest. We have not got involved in anything and for us to be dragged into this is disappointing."
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