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Kevin Pietersen says he thought he had been offered a 'clean slate'

Image: Kevin Pietersen: Said he thought he would be given clean England slate

Kevin Pietersen says he already knew there was no guarantee he would be recalled to the England side but did think he had been offered a "clean slate".

He made his comments on his Twitter feed in response to a statement released on Friday by the new England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves.

Pietersen was told he would not represent England again following the 5-0 Ashes humiliation in Australia two winters ago, a decision which has aroused huge controversy ever since.

However, prior to starting work at the ECB, Graves gave interviews in which he appeared to suggest that Pietersen might be considered for a recall if he scored prolifically for a county side.

He also held private talks with Pietersen and the 34-year-old appeared to get the same impression, pulling out of an Indian Premier League contract and signing a deal with Surrey.

But, despite Pietersen’s 355 not out against Leicestershire on Monday and Tuesday, new England cricket director Andrew Strauss announced this week that the batsman will not be selected this summer.

And Strauss said the reason for the decision was that: “Over months and years, trust has eroded between Kevin Pietersen and the ECB.

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“There is a massive trust issue between me and Kevin.”

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England director of cricket Andrew Strauss says Kevin Pietersen is not part of his selection plans for the summer

The decision, and the reasons given for it, sparked a further outcry, and Pietersen himself wrote in the Telegraph that he felt he had been “deeply misled” and “led down the garden path”.

The furore prompted Graves to release a statement defending his conduct, in which he said Pietersen had not been deceived.

"I didn’t make any promises,” he said. “There were no guarantees that, if he chose to exit his IPL contract, play county cricket and score runs, he would be selected for England.”

However, Pietersen has responded by implying he knew he could not bank on a recall but thought he might at least be considered if, for example, one of the current first-choice batsman was injured or lost form.

On Saturday morning he highlighted a tweet by cricket broadcaster and writer Elizabeth Ammon, which read: “KP didn’t claim that Graves had made guarantees.

“Nowhere did anyone say he WOULD be selected.”

Pietersen added: “Exactly – no one is guaranteed selection.

“I was told there was a CLEAN SLATE. I wanted to earn my place back.”

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