Kevin Pietersen open to England return if ECB chief quits

London England exile Kevin Pietersen said he could yet return to international duty if England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke quits his post Thursday saw Pietersens controversial autobiography finally go on general sale after days of prepublicity in which the South Africaborn batsman Englands leading alltime runscorer highlighted a bullying culture within the England dressing room and was severely critical of the management methods of former England coach Andy FlowerKevin PietersenIt is hard to imagine the circumstances in which Pietersen might make an international return not least because he did not play County Championship cricket for Surrey last season But the 34yearold has not given up hope and having previously focused much of his ire on Flower and several former teammates Thursday saw him turn his attention to ClarkeWhat would have to happen for me to be recalled by England Pietersen asked in an interview with the London Evening Standard Clearly the boss would have to go Clarke would have to go and Ive been hearing that could happen in the next few months Thats all hearsay you never know If there is a change at the top there is potential but we will wait and seeIt was Clarke who oversaw an uncomfortable press conference alongside Pietersen in Colombo in 2012 where the star batsman was formally reintegrated into the England team That followed a threemonth banishment after Pietersen sent text messages critical of then England captain Andrew Strauss to opposition South Africa players during a home series with the ProteasGiles pulls a lot of strings In terms of cricket I believe Andy Flower pulls a lot of strings too Pietersen told the Standard He has Giles Clarke in his pocket Boycott sympathy The ECB have steadfastly declined to respond to Pietersens autobiography and they had no comment to make regarding his comments about Clarke But England great Geoffrey Boycott said he could understand why Kevin Pietersen felt angered by the way his England career was brought to an abrupt halt without a specific explanationFormer captain Pietersen having been a key figure in one of the most successful of all England cricket sides was effectively sacked by the England and Wales Cricket Board following the teams 50 Ashes series loss in Australia concluded in January Id be miffed if my career had been finished for no reasons given said Boycott Its actually a pretty big thing when youve got a very talented player and a country says Fine we want to move on without you Boycott told the Cricinfo websiteBoycott added the root cause of the bitterness was in 2009 when Pietersen was sacked as England captain after voicing his concerns about Peter Mooress suitability as a coach Moores lost his job within the England setup and was replaced by his former assistant Flower with whom Pietersen had also clashed Following this years Ashes debacle Flower stood down and was replaced by MooresReflecting on the change of command in 2009 Boycott said You have two people Pietersen and Flower who resent the situation both in prime positions one the best batsman and the other the coach in charge Thats a recipe for disaster isnt it Im not surprised it spilt over and eventually hes having his say because I feel there was so much illfeeling from that moment Kevin was sacked as captain and Flower was promoted from assistant coach to the coachMeanwhile Boycotts former England teammate Ian Botham said he feared Pietersens brilliance as a batsman was in danger of being overshadowed by the amateur hour fallout from his book Kevin Pietersen has made the decision to air his grievances and that is up to him but from what Ive read and heard it is more about score settling than the great times he gave us with his cricket Botham wrote in his Daily Mirror column