Pietersen clarifies remarks, reaffirms commitment to team

Kevin Pietersen swears he is as commited to the England team as he was as captain, clarifying that his outburst was the culmination of an enduring summer and not that he wanted to leave the team midway through the West Indies tour.

Kevin Pietersen swears he is as commited to the England team as he was as captain, clarifying that his outburst was the culmination of an enduring summer and not that he wanted to leave the team midway through the West Indies tour.

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Pietersen said his frustration stemmed from the loss of his captaincy and the poor showing of the team. That was the time, he had said, he was "at the end of his tether" and wanted to go back to his wife.

"Maybe I was a little too honest, but where the honesty came from was frustration. The frustration on two parts: the captaincy in the first half of the winter that didn't go to plan - no victories there. Then coming into the last part also we didn't get a victory.

"The frustration of not winning a game on the tour (West Indies) so far except for that mathematical error on the West Indies part (in Guyana) - that was hell of a frustration," Pietersen clarifeid on Wednesday.

He went so far as to say England's tour of India which he captained was a "shambles".

"It's the longest time I've ever been away from my wife, that's been playing on me. But what never came out was how desperate I am to win games for England, and me saying I was at the end of my tether last week was not a case of me wanting to leave these shores as everybody said.

"I love playing for England, it's a dream come true playing for England and I realise that every day, with a steep learning curve of being a little too honest. What I learned last week was not to be so honest," Pietersen was quoted as saying in the British media on Wednesday.

Asked whether he was traumatised by the sudden loss of his captaincy before the West Indies tour.

"I would not say traumatised. A lot of water has gone under the bridge now and my relationship with Andy (Flower, the coach), Straussy (Andrew) and Hugh (Morris, the managing director) is absolutely fine."

"I'm 100 per cent committed to England as much as I was when I was captain, as much as before I was captain. I want to support the captain, I want to support the coach, and I do that on a daily basis. I haven't even had a hint of an argument with anybody."

Strauss explained on Sunday that going home for such a non-urgent reason would have set "a bad precedent", but added that Pietersen had been very professional in every respect on tour, and had no malice in him.