Alastair Cook not drawn on speculation surrounding Kevin Pietersen's Test future

 
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Tom Dutton11 January 2014

England captain Alastair Cook would not be drawn on speculation that the Test future of Kevin Pietersen is in the balance.

Cook – who confirmed he would remain skipper despite a humiliating whitewash in Australia - was less forthright when asked if Pietersen would feature in England’s bid to regain the Ashes in 2015.

“When you lose a series 5-0 a lot of things get thrown up and in your face as a captain,” said Cook.

“It's very important the leaders of this side take their time to make the right decisions because knee-jerk reactions are not what's required. 

“It needs a lot of thinking and most importantly we need to get English Test cricket back on track.”

And the skipper remained unmoved when probed about the nature of Pietersen’s influence within the tourists’ camp over recent months.

“I can’t talk about what happens in dressing room at this precise moment in time. I refuse to do that.

“What happens in the dressing room has to stay in the dressing room.

“We have been a good force for five years, we've had a tough three months - that's hard to take - but we've got a lot of good cricketers in England and you have to start looking to the future as well.

But Cook showed less caution when discussing the future of coach Andy Flower, who this week denied talk he had issued Pietersen an ultimatum with regards to his England career.

“He’s a fantastic coach with a very good record, he has to really want to carry on,” the England opener said.

“Just seeing what he’s said in the media he desperately wants to do that so that’s great news for us.”

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