KP's reminder to incoming Bayliss

Kevin Pietersen has issued a reminder to new coach Trevor Bayliss that he remains available for England selection for the upcoming Ashes series even though he is about to pull the pin on his county commitments to play in the Caribbean Premier League T20 competition.

Pietersen, who was recently told by his former Test captain Andrew Strauss that he is not part of England’s plans for the immediate future, refuses to give up hope of a change of heart that means he could once more represent his adopted country.

In his latest column for The Telegraph newspaper in the UK, the spurned batsman made a pointed reference to the top-order batting failures that largely led to England’s loss to New Zealand in the final Test of their two-match series this week.

“I want to be clear, I am not retiring from England,” Pietersen wrote.

“I still believe I can bat in that team and win games of cricket for England.

“And we have seen recently how fragile that batting order can be.” 

Watch: Pietersen after posting a triple-century for Surrey

Despite scoring a career-high 355no for county team Surrey last month, Pietersen was informed immediately after by Strauss (now the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Director of Cricket) that he would not win a return to international cricket in the foreseeable future.

Strauss later cited a lack of trust from him and other elements within England cricket towards the South African-born batsman that have flowed from the release of Pietersen’s scathing autobiography last year.

Pietersen has described the debate that has swirled around his surge for selection and the ECB’s subsequent rebuff as “nonsense”.

But even though his final red ball outing of the English summer ended with more of a whimper than a whirlwind – he scored just two in Surrey’s first innings of 448 against Lancashire this week – Pietersen maintains he showed enough in his brief county stint to confirm he would still be a force at international level.

“Everyone knows I was fairly disillusioned with things for a week or so after being told I would not play for England again, but I went back to Surrey and we have had a great time whether in the field or batting under pressure,” Pietersen wrote.

“I would still love to play for England given an opportunity but I also have to honour other contracts.

“I am duty-bound to honour my contract with the St Lucia Zouks (in the CPL) but I will be available for England selection throughout that tournament and beyond.

“Some people will say how can England pick me when I am only playing T20?

“Well, I have just played four first-class games. I am averaging 156.33. I have proved I can still bat against the red ball.

“It is not an issue.

“I have switched from Test to T20 playing for England all over the world. It is second nature to me.

“I just know I have to carry on batting. I love it and while that is the case I will keep going.

“At the end of the day I do not control the other nonsense. All I control is what I do with my bat.” 

Watch: KP in action for the Melbourne Stars in the BBL

While heaping praise on NZ skipper Brendon McCullum and his team for the aggressive approach they brought to the recent Test series, he conceded it had also forced England to find a more attacking strategy which he claimed would be crucial to them trying to regain the Ashes.

He also congratulated captain Alastair Cook on becoming England’s highest Test runs scorer during the Headingley Test (“Alastair Cook is a fantastic batter, you do not get 9,000 runs at the age of 30 if you are a clown) and cited his form as pivotal to England’s chances in the Ashes.

And he hoped that Bayliss, the former New South Wales and Sydney Sixers coach who takes over the England job later this month, continued to back explosive all-rounder Ben Stokes adding “I hear (Bayliss) is a very good coach”.

But Pietersen also warned that Australia’s batsmen would go after struggling spinner Moeen Ali if he maintains his Test berth, and claimed the England selectors “missed a trick” by not including Yorkshire leg spinner Adil Rashid in their XI during the recent three-Test series in the Caribbean.

“The Aussies will target Moeen Ali,” Pietersen wrote.

“He is a very talented batsman first and foremost, but I fear they could finish him off if he is used as our spin attack.”

Pietersen identified England’s batting as their most significant problem ahead of the first Ashes Test that begins in Cardiff on July 8, suggesting that despite his lack of recent runs Ian Bell should be moved up to number three in the order in order to bring the best out of him.

And he claimed Gary Ballance, the incumbent left-hander who endured a horror run against New Zealand, should be shunted down to number five (below Joe Root) because his technique “is not quite up to international standard”.

“He has to go and work on that,” Pietersen wrote of the Zimbabwe-born batsman.

“His technique suggests he is scared of the short ball.

“You cannot bat in England with your right foot, as a left hander, behind the popping crease.

“You have to go towards the ball with your feet and head.

“The technique is not doing him any favours and I don’t know why nobody has told him before.”