Why Pietersen simply has to wise up

Kevin must remember that he has been in Barbados, one of the great places of the world, and that there are thousands of cricket lovers at home who would willingly swap places with him. On many a tour as captain I realised that when it came down to the last couple of weeks, a lot of people — including myself — were desperate to get home, but we kept talk of it down to a minimum as it distracted from the task. Every member of the England team will be looking forward to going home on Saturday to see their families again, but they have not made that public.

It has also emerged that he asked to have a break from the tour of the West Indies between the third and fourth Tests. This was not unprecedented because Matt Prior, the team's wicketkeeper, went home at the same time to be with his wife after the birth of their first child. Pietersen, however, wanted the break because his wife Jessica was unable to come to the Caribbean as she was appearing as a competitor in the television programme, Dancing On Ice. Pietersen has not been miserable, or at least not in public, but he has been plainly aloof. And he said in his column in the News of the World on Sunday that the England squad was "a lonely place to be". He was doubtless trying to appease the paper which pays him a considerable amount of money and which was miffed that he was so forthcoming to a rival.