Kevin Pietersen: Piers Morgan continues his unrelenting defence of former England captain as he claims Pietersen was never told he had lost the trust of the ECB and captain Alastair Cook

Morgan claims that the ECB has not provided any evidence that suggests Pietersen had done anything to lose the trust of Cook or anyone else in the side

Agency
Monday 10 February 2014 10:15 GMT
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Kevin Pietersen (left) with the novelist Jeffrey Archer (centre) and broadcaster Piers Morgan (right) at Lord’s in 2010
Kevin Pietersen (left) with the novelist Jeffrey Archer (centre) and broadcaster Piers Morgan (right) at Lord’s in 2010 (Getty Images)

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One of Kevin Pietersen's loudest allies claimed on Sunday night that the axed England batsman was never told by the England and Wales Cricket Board that he had lost their trust.

The fallout from Pietersen's departure from the England setup shows no sign of abating, with Piers Morgan as vocal as ever about the matter after an ECB statement on Sunday.

That statement said the 33-year-old had effectively paid the price for not being able to fit into a "culture in which (the ECB) can be confident (England captain Alastair Cook) will have the full support of all players, with everyone pulling in the same direction and able to trust each other."

It was not said that Pietersen was not trusted, but it was the clearest verdict to reach from the release.

There was no comment from Pietersen's management company but broadcaster Morgan, a known friend of the South African, tweeted: "Just spoke to KP24 - nobody has EVER raised the issue of 'trust' with him between rehabilitation & sacking. Not ECB, Cook, anyone. Fact."

"ECB not produced a single shred of evidence that KP24 breached Cook's, or anyone else in team's trust since coming back into side. Fact.

"So, when it comes to ECB-cricket & Alastair Cook claims that KP24 breached their 'trust' - don't 'trust' them. £BringBackKP."

Morgan last week made allegations about a comment made by wicketkeeper Matt Prior in a team meeting after the Melbourne Test against Australia.

How Morgan knows what Prior did or did not say remains unclear, but he stood by his view that his friend has been hard done to.

"Is this ECB-cricket statement the most absurd ever made by an English sporting body? Serious question," he added.

Cook was present at the meeting in which Pietersen was told he was no longer needed, and Morgan added: "After the way he betrayed KP24 - I wouldn't trust Alastair Cook to take my dog for a walk. And I don't even have a dog. £Judas."

The statement did not suggest that Pietersen had been stood down because of Morgan's comments, but that did not stop him from adding: "BREAKING NEWS: It's all MY fault! The ECB sacked KP24 for stuff I revealed AFTER he was sacked!

"As for 'trust', which England players grassed up KP24 to (Andy) Flower from that 'confidential' meeting? What shameless hypocrites."

Morgan went on to try and debate with BBC commentator Jonathan Agnew: "Erm Aggerscricket - it was Flower, Cook & Prior who stabbed KP in the back for no good reason. You need better sources," he said.

"Alastair Cook deserves the same 'full support' he gave his best player KP24 - zero.

"Again Aggerscricket - how could the ECB sack KP for revelations leaked AFTER he was sacked. Please explain.

"The ECB-cricket must think the public are stupid. They're not. £BringBackKP".

Morgan went on to claim some of Pietersen's team-mates had been complicit in articles appearing in the media, adding: "Given half the England team have leaked derogatory stuff about KP24 to the papers, will they all now be sacked too? £DoubleStandard."

A number of Morgan's Tweets were retweeted by Pietersen's wife, Jessica Taylor, suggesting she endorsed his views.

PA

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