Kevin Pietersen’s England career effectively ended on this day in 2014 after he was left out of the tour of the Caribbean and not included in the squad for the ICC World Twenty20.
The decision by the England and Wales Cricket Board to focus on the “long term” was made after a 5-0 Ashes defeat in Australia a month earlier.
Pietersen had top scored for England on the miserable tour down under, but Andy Flower resigned from his role as Test team director and limited-overs coach Ashley Giles decided along with captain Alastair Cook and new managing director Paul Downton to move on from the maverick batter.
Only 16 months earlier, the process to reintegrate Pietersen back into the set-up had started after a controversial home series with South Africa in the summer of 2022 where it was discovered he had been messaging members of the tourists’ squad about Flower and then-captain Andrew Strauss.
After Pietersen played a key role in a historic series win in India and featured away to New Zealand, he starred in the 2013 Ashes, which ended 3-0 to England after he scored 388 runs.
The disastrous return Ashes months later in Australia was littered with reports of issues in the dressing room, for which Pietersen paid the price when he was not selected for tour of the Caribbean or the ICC World Twenty20 squad.
At the time, Pietersen said in a statement: “Playing cricket for my country has been an honour. Every time I pulled on the England shirt was a moment of huge pride for me and that is something that will live with me forever.
“Although I am obviously very sad the incredible journey has come to an end, I’m also hugely proud of what we, as a team, have achieved over the past nine years.
“I believe I have a great deal still to give as a cricketer. I will continue to play but deeply regret that it won’t be for England.”
Ex-captain Pietersen finished with 8,181 runs in 104 Tests, including 23 centuries and retired from all forms of cricket in 2018.
Zimbabwe crush Pakistan in rain-affected ODI series opener
Zimbabwe's spinners took centre-stage as they earned a crushing 80-run victory over Pakistan in the teams' rain-affected ODI opener on Sunday.
Torrential rain, thunder and lightning halted play after 21 overs of the Pakistan innings, with the tourists toiling at 60-6 after bowling Zimbabwe out for 205.
Sean Williams, Blessing Muzarabani and Sikandar Raza each scalped two wickets apiece as no Pakistan batter surpassed the 19 runs managed by Mohammad Rizwan.
The dismal weather would ensure no further play was possible, with Pakistan having completed the requisite 20 overs to ensure a result would be declared, ensuring Zimbabwe won on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
Richard Ngarava had earlier top-scored for Zimbabwe with a steady 48 off 52 balls, with Raza adding an important 39 from 56 deliveries after the hosts had been dropped to 99-5.
Salman Agha and Faisal Akram finished with three wickets apiece for Pakistan, but it was not enough to prevent Zimbabwe from being declared comfortable victors, with their total some way clear of the DLS par score of 141.
Data Debrief: Zimbabwe end Bulawayo hoodoo
Zimbabwe's victory may not have come in the circumstances they would have envisaged, but it did end their dismal run against Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
They had lost each of their previous eight matches against Pakistan at the venue, only winning one of their last nine there overall (one draw, seven defeats), after winning three of their previous four.
They will hope to carry this momentum into Tuesday's second match at the same venue, as they bid to clinch victory in the three-match series.
Jaiswal revels in 'special' century as India take command against Australia
Yashasvi Jaiswal revelled in a "special" century as India took command on day three of the opening Test against Australia in Perth.
The opener made 161 as part of a 201-run opening stand with KL Rahul to celebrate a fourth hundred in the longest format.
Virat Kohli was also unbeaten on 100 as India declared on 487-6 before Australia finished 12-3 in reply and surely out of the game with 522 runs required for victory.
In quotes reported by BBC Sport, Jaiswal said: "For me all my centuries are amazing, but this is special because I really wanted to do it against Australia.
"I worked so hard in every practice session, I wanted to score runs here in Australia, so I really enjoyed it.
"I was just playing normally, I always trust in me and believe in me."
Australia's top-order frailties were exposed once more as captain Jasprit Bumrah dismissed debutant Nathan McSweeney for a duck and Marnus Labuschagne (three) before nightwatchman Patrick Cummins (two) fell to Mohammed Siraj in a devastating spell before the close of play.
Josh Hazlewood all but conceded defeat and said the hosts' plan for day four is now to stick at it as long as possible and, ideally, tire out India's quicks ahead of the upcoming Tests.
"I think it's just about the batters sticking to their plans tomorrow, batting some time," he said.
"It's obviously a long series so if we can put some overs into their top quicks, that's one of the goals.
"And if some guys find some form and score 80, 90 or 100, that's probably the positives we can take out of it."
Greaves hits unbeaten ton as West Indies dominate Bangladesh
Justin Greaves hit an unbeaten century – his first red-ball ton – as West Indies ended day two of their first Test against Bangladesh with a commanding 410-run lead.
Greaves resumed alongside Joshua Da Silva with West Indies 250-5 after day one in Antigua, eventually slamming 115 runs off 206 balls faced as the hosts established a dominant position.
His steady knock ensured the Windies recovered nicely after slipping to 261-7 early on, while Kemar Roach hit a career-best 47 through four defiant hours at the crease.
Hasan Mahmud took three day-two wickets for Bangladesh, including that of Roach, as his short delivery angled in to clip the top of middle stump.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite declared to put Bangladesh at the crease late on, and there was no respite for the tourists against the hosts' four-man pace attack.
Zakir Hasan fell to Jayden Seales for 15, while Mahmudul Hasan Joy edged Alzarri Joseph for five shortly after being dropped, leaving Bangladesh 40-2 at stumps.
Data Debrief: Career-best for Greaves
Greaves' unbeaten 115 marked his first century in Test cricket, surpassing his previous best knock – a score of 33 versus Australia in January – by some distance.
His strike rate of 55.83 on Saturday, while steady, also bettered his effort of 55.00 during that match in Brisbane. Thanks to his efforts, Bangladesh have a real mountain to climb on day three.
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