KP 'the one guy who stood out': Strauss

Despite a fractured relationship off the field, former England captain Andrew Strauss says exiled batsman Kevin Pietersen was the best player he ever played with.

"In terms of being able to do things that other cricketers couldn’t, in the England side while I was involved he was the one guy that stood out for me," said Strauss of Pietersen in the latest Lord’s Podcast.

While Strauss praised his ex-teammate’s deeds on the field, off it the pair have endured a series of scandals.

In 2012, Strauss bowed out of international cricket in controversial fashion after it was discovered Pietersen had been sending text messages to certain South African cricketers that denigrated his captain and disclosed information on how to dismiss the left-hander.

Two years later, Strauss was caught calling Pietersen a “c—t” during a commentary stint with Sky Sports when he mistakenly thought his live microphone was turned off.

Pietersen was axed following England’s 5-0 Ashes whitewash last summer, but a change in leadership at the England and Wales Cricket Board has reignited the right-hander’s hopes to once again represent his adopted country.

Foregoing a lucrative Indian Premier League contract with David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pietersen signed with county side Surrey to stake his claim for an England recall.

But Strauss says the hype and publicity surrounding Pietersen has distracted the ECB, and the only way to put it behind them is to start winning games of cricket.

"It’s very important for English cricket to move on from the Kevin Pietersen situation,” said Strauss.

"That threatens to envelop everything at the moment.

“The story has become more of a distraction than actually him playing or not, it's become that big.

"The ECB and England team’s efforts to move on from him haven’t worked so far, [but] by winning, that will allow them to move forward."

At 34-years-old and with his strained history with the English dressing room, Strauss doesn’t believe cricket fans will see Pietersen in the Ashes when Australia travel to the UK this winter.

"If you look at it from pure cricketing logic, after this Ashes is over, it’s quite hard to see a situation where Kevin Pietersen would come back into the side,” he said.

"You’re building to the next Ashes in two and half years’ time and the World Cup in 2019.

"I think if you were to bring Kevin Pietersen back it would be a short-term measure to help you win the Ashes but I can’t see that happening personally because there are too many bridges to build in too short a period of time.

"I think after the Ashes the story does move forward at that point."