Simon Parker column

As someone who grew up in the political minefield that is Zimbabwe, Andy Flower is not one to tip-toe around awkward situations.

And he typically cut through all the bull and baloney of KP-gate when quizzed once again about England’s problem child.

“English cricket has a great history and it has a great future,” said Flower. “It is bigger than any one player.

“You will always move on from anyone, whether it be a captain, a coach or a player.”

And in two sentences, Flower made it clear that the name Kevin Pietersen will not appear on another team sheet under his watch.

KP, of course, has got form for removing management that he doesn’t particularly like. Peter Moores anyone?

But you sense the rest of Team England is right behind Flower on this one. For all Pietersen’s brilliance – and his talent has never been in doubt – the destructiveness of his personality in the dressing room will ensure his exile lasts longer than a half-baked apology on Youtube.

Regular readers of this column, and even the occasional ones, will know that I’m no Pietersen fan.

And that’s not simply because, as a Hampshire boy, I was pretty miffed with the way he turned up only when he wanted to during two “blink and you’ll miss it” seasons with the county.

Having said that, watching his golden duck there for Surrey last Sunday did raise a smirk – if not the full-throated roar from the Hampshire opposition as he headed back to the pavilion to a chorus of cat calls.

Pushing parochial bitterness to one side, it is still hard to disagree with anything that England’s top brass have said in recent weeks.

For anyone to disagree with their hardline stance is simply a case of burying your head in the sand.

How can you possibly overlook the issue of a player betraying the confidences of his team-mates by texting the opposition on a regular basis?

And these weren’t just South African in-jokes but, as it now seems clear, digs at his own side and their captain in particular.

Lord’s should have been the pinnacle for Andrew Strauss as he led out England on his 100th Test appearance. Instead it became another trial by media – the gossip columns as much as the sports pages – as a memorable personal occasion was completely hijacked by a player who wasn’t even in the country.

Pietersen slipped out for a brief family holiday to avoid the inevitable media explosion. For once, he didn’t want the spotlight.

But he left enough collateral damage to submerge the skipper.

Strauss has somehow managed to rise above it all. He has bitten his lip that hard during interviews, you expect to see teeth marks around his Adam’s apple.

I bet he’d love to tell it how it is and damn the consequences. Instead, he shows amazing powers of restraint while the critics pick holes in his captaincy.

Of course, the KP lovers will gleefully point out, Strauss and England lost again. Without their star act, they are a shadow of the number one Test nation.

Not true. Let’s not forget Jonny Bairstow, his replacement, chipped in with 149 runs of his own and finished only five shy of a memorable maiden England ton.

So Pietersen’s exile will extend into England’s defence of the Twenty20 World Cup which he did so much to win for them.

With Flower at the helm, you cannot see him making the autumn Test tour to India. Pietersen’s local knowledge of smashing the ball to all boundaries in the monied colours of the Delhi Daredevils will cut no ice in selecting for a gruelling trip which demands the most tight-knit of travelling groups.

This current stand-off makes sorry reading for cricket. But it’s wrong to suggest Pietersen’s absence is England’s loss. There is only one person losing out here.