Still no clarity on Pietersen - Butcher

Former England batsman Mark Butcher says the ECB's handling of Kevin Pietersen will leave a lot of supporters of English cricket "confused". Reacting to the announcement by newly appointed director of cricket Andrew Strauss that Pietersen wasn't part of England's plans for the upcoming summer, Butcher said it will be a "bitter pill to swallow" for the batsman who did everything that was asked of him to be back in consideration for a recall.

"Pietersen trusted Colin Graves when he said that the slate would be wiped clean and he would be picked on merit again, he now knows that is not case," Butcher told ESPNcricinfo. "Irrespective of how many runs he scores, he will not get picked. So, the trust from his side isn't there either."

In confirming Pietersen's exile for the rest of the summer, Strauss said "a massive trust issue" existed between the two. Butcher said he feared that this ruptured personal relationship between the men may have led to a situation where the best interests of English cricket weren't prioritised.

"I don't know why their personal relationship is important as they no longer share a dressing room together," he said. "The cricket that is coming up - England trying to win against New Zealand and the Ashes - did not get mentioned. There has been a lot of talk about building for the future. That's one thing English cricket has always done exceptionally well. The present is passing by and the results are passing by.

"Another interesting thing was that Strauss said that he has not been banned; he's just not a part of our plans at the moment. It is the same scenario that has existed for a while now. I think the people and Pietersen want some clarity. He would want to know whether he's wasting his time or has he still got a chance. As far as I can tell, none of those questions have been answered."

Butcher is convinced that despite the door being shut on Pietersen in the immediate future, this saga is far from over. He believes that come the Ashes the story will still be "bubbling beneath the surface", especially if England falter in their upcoming series against New Zealand.

"You don't score that many international runs without being a very fine player," Butcher said. "In order for him to get back in, there was always going to be a payoff. The payoff was that he had to score runs which he has done emphatically but also that others would have to fail or England will have to lose Test matches and series. So, we haven't gone back to the critical point yet. The point is that England didn't win in the West Indies and I said that they would do very well to win there.

"Given that they face New Zealand now who are a fantastic side and will face an England side that is not at 100 percent they can very easily create a few problems. You cannot tell me this story is over because everyone knows what happens in English cricket when the Ashes occur. Big stories happen and heroes and villains emerge."

At least for the moment though, the ECB's shambolic handling of the entire affair has meant Pietersen has won the public relations battle hands down in the eyes of most observers. Butcher is among those.

"If there was somebody writing Kevin's script and had this grand plan of turning public opinion in his favour against the ECB, then whoever's writing that is doing a very good job," he said. "With every passing day and the revelations and the press conferences, it looks as though the person who has come out of this smelling the sweetest is Kevin irrespective of whether he plays or not."