Kevin Pietersen was axed to 'improve atmospheres' off the field - Stuart Broad

 
Tom Collomosse21 February 2014

Stuart Broad today hinted that Kevin Pietersen was sacked by England because of the need to “improve atmospheres” off the cricket field.

Broad became the first senior England player to speak publicly since Pietersen was cast aside earlier this month as the squad prepared to depart for a limited overs tour of the Caribbean.

Test skipper Alastair Cook had the decisive say on Pietersen’s omission yet it was Broad, the Twenty20 captain, who was required to explain the decision at Gatwick Airport.

“There is no doubt the guys who made the decision are very keen for England cricket to move forward and are very passionate about doing that,” said Broad before flying out for a tour which will serve as preparation for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, starting next month.

“There are no egos involved in making huge decisions like this. It’s about improving results on the field and improving atmospheres off it.

“That decision was made and, as T20 captain, I’m very happy with the squad we’re taking to the Caribbean and the World Cup.

“I was aware of discussions towards the end of the Australian tour but I was not deeply involved in them. But it was made by guys who have the England cricket team in their heart and they want it to improve.

“When you read and listen to top-class managers and coaches, they are always talking about character. It’s about having the right ethic and character, and team ethics are very important in sport. But you still need people to score runs and take wickets, so it’s a fine balance.

Kevin Pietersen's top five knocks for England

1/5

“Kev was a fantastic player who was part of a hugely successful era for England but we can’t just sit in the past.”

Broad, along with limited-overs coach Ashley Giles, has the task of trying to revive spirits after what the bowler admitted was a “disaster” in Australia. England were whitewashed 5-0 in the Ashes and beat their hosts only once in any form of the game.

“We do have to make improvements,” said Broad. “This winter has shown that. It was heart-breaking to lose 5-0 and we’ve lost a lot of good men in doing that. Andy Flower stepped down, Graeme Swann retired, Jonathan Trott went home and Steve Finn went home.

“Kevin has scored a lot of match-winning runs but the decision was taken by guys who were desperate for England to improve in the future, not just over the next four or five months but in the coming years.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in