If Kevin Pietersen really did offer tactical advice that was useful to his native South Africa in their successful bid to oust England from the top of the world Test rankings, it is hard to see a way back into the international game for him.
There can surely be no greater betrayal of the team ethic than to undermine your own colleagues. To do so – and he appears to have done so – is surely beyond the pale.
He does not seem a man given to generosity of spirit, but even Pietersen must understand that he owes English cricket a greater debt of gratitude than most for the opportunity he has been given to earn the money he now can from the likes of the Indian Premier League.
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