London, June 13: England coach Andy Flower has expressed his sadness over Kevin Pietersen’s decision to quit the shorter versions of cricket, and hopes the South Africa born batsman doesn’t regret his decision in future.
“I''m not annoyed, I think it''s quite sad that Kevin''s not going to be playing all three forms of the game,” The Independent quoted Flower, as saying.
“After retiring and looking back at the career he might think ''crikey I wish I''d taken part in more World Cups and helped win the 2015 World Cup with England''. They are great memories, and I think, it''s a little sad he won''t get those opportunities any more,” he added.
But Flower also made it clear that he and the team management weren’t ready to make any compromise on England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) policy of players being available for both forms without exception, and believes Pietersen was no special case.
Pietersen had said he wanted to continue playing the Twenty20 format, but wasn’t keen to carry on playing the one-day format for cricket.
“He told me he didn''t want to play one-day cricket any more. We discussed it fully and the ECB explained very clearly what the ramifications were,” Flower said.
“He was aware he was on a contract, and, I tried, on a number of occasions, to dissuade him for, what I believe, is his own good, but he''s a 32-year-old man who makes his own decisions. Also, he''s a very fine international cricketer and makes us stronger when he plays. That''s the choice he made,” he added.
© ANI
|
India |
New Zealand
