England will be weaker without Pietersen, says Clarke

Australia captain Michael Clarke has absolutely no doubt England will be a weaker side without batsman Kevin Pietersen when the Ashes rivalry resumes in Cardiff on July 8.

Pietersen was sacked by England last year following the 2013-14 trip to Australia during which he was accused of being disengaged from the team as the tourists crashed to a 5-0 defeat.

Despite being England's most prolific batsman in all forms of the game and going back to score runs in county cricket, the 34-year-old was told last week he would not be part of the side for the Ashes this year.

Clarke, speaking on Sunday before his departure for a two-Test tour of the West Indies that precedes the Ashes, said he had sympathy for Pietersen but that his absence would make Australia's task easier.

"There's two sides for me - there's the personal side where I feel for 'KP' because I get on well with him and I'd love to see him back playing cricket for England," he told reporters at Sydney Airport.

"His form has been outstanding, he's still a great player, I know he wants to play for England so I feel for him on that side.

"On the other side, we go there soon to play against England. Any team without Kevin Pietersen won't be as strong, I think his statistics speak for themselves. He's been a wonderful play for a long time and he's still in career best form."

Clarke said it was important that Australia's players were not distracted by the circus surrounding Pietersen's exclusion, which has enjoyed widespread coverage Down Under.

"I've tried to stay quiet and keep out of it. The last thing we want to do as a team is get caught up in what's happening in England or West Indies or anywhere else," he added.

"We need to stay focused and make sure we're as well prepared as possible.

"England will be tough. When we get there, no matter what 11 players they put on the field, they will be tough, they know their conditions really well."

Clarke said it was also vital that the team focused on performing well in the two tests in Dominica and Jamaica next month and did not dwell too much on the prospect of winning the Ashes in England for the first time since 2001.

"It's been a long time but ... we're being really focused on doing all the right things so we can perform at our best," he said.

"We'll be really dedicated and disciplined with this trip to West Indies. Hopefully individuals will get some form behind them for England, and we'll worry about that when we get there."

International comeback

Pietersen again indicated he'd been misled about the possibility of an international comeback when he said Saturday he had been offered a "clean slate" by incoming England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves.

Andrew Strauss, the new ECB director of cricket and Pietersen's successor as England captain, said Tuesday that a "massive trust issue" prevented the South Africa-born batsman's return, even though Pietersen is England's all-time leading run-scorer across all formats.

That appeared to contradict earlier comments from Graves that a return was possible if Pietersen, sent into international exile 15 months ago after England's 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia, scored enough runs in county cricket.

Pietersen said two private conversations he had with Graves before the former Yorkshire chairman took up the equivalent ECB post reinforced that view.

Pietersen's anger intensified as he was told by Strauss he would not be considered by England for the upcoming home Tests against New Zealand and Australia this season shortly after scoring his maiden first-class triple century, during Surrey's County Championship match against Leicestershire at The Oval.

Graves said Friday he "didn't make any promises" but appeared to be defending himself from a charge no one, including Pietersen, had made.

Pietersen's argument was not that he'd been "promised" anything, but rather that if he met certain conditions he would at least be considered for England selection.

And on Saturday, in response to a comment on Twitter, Pietersen said: "Exactly - no one is guaranteed selection. I was told there was a CLEAN SLATE. I wanted to earn my place back."

Strauss's first week in his new role has seen him having to justify both his decision to sack former England coach Peter Moores and Pietersen's ongoing omission.

Graves only took up his post on Friday and felt obliged to defend his reputation after Pietersen accused the ECB of being "incredibly deceitful".

"I didn't make any promises," said Graves. "There were no guarantees that if he chose to exit his IPL (Indian Premier League) contract, play county cricket and score runs he would be selected for England - and I said he should make any decision on his future on that basis."

In the midst of the Pietersen row, England also found themselves trying to explain the non-attendance of Stuart Broad at a press conference organised by sponsors Investec to promote the the two-Test series against New Zealand, which starts at Lord's on Thursday.

Broad cited illness for his failure to turn up and it was left to England team-mate Ian Bell to become the first member of the current side to field questions about the continuing absence of Pietersen from the side.

However, a report in Britain's Daily Mail suggested Broad's absence from the press conference was down to his being on a late night drinking spree involving former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and currently injured wicket-keeper Matt Prior that meant the fast-medium bowler didn't return to his hotel until 7:00am (0600 GMT).

An ECB spokesman said: "We are aware Stuart Broad was scheduled to appear at a sponsors' event, but was unable to, and we were told it was due to illness."

Broad, according to Investec, will now hold a media conference on Sunday instead.

 

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