'Incredibly overwhelmed' Pietersen 'so sad' over end of England career

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has reportedly expressed 'sadness' over the end of his international career and said that he was 'incredibly overwhelmed' by the support that he has received.

Pietersen's days as an international cricketer came to an end when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that it had 'unanimously' decided to move forward without him ahead of the forthcoming tour of the West Indies and the World Twenty20.

According to Sport24, Pietersen posted a picture on Instagram of himself leaving the field after his final Test match against Australia in Sydney during England's recent 5-0 Ashes defeat, underneath which he wrote that he is 'sad' that this would be the last time that he leaves a field in an England shirt.

Pietersen also wrote that that he is 'incredibly overwhelmed' by the support overnight and thanked his supporters, adding that he 'loves' England and 'honestly' hopes that they have every success in the future.

Meanwhile, Pietersen's wife, British pop star Jessica Taylor, took to Twitter to criticise former England bowler Dominic Cork for claiming that Pietersen had clashed with captain Alastair Cook during the Australia tour, and said that Cork was 'lying, plain and simple'.

Taylor later added that 'regurgitating rumour' and 'spinning' it as fact is not what she would call responsible journalism, adding that the public deserve 'so much better - the truth.'

With 13, 797 runs to his name, Pietersen bows out as England's all-time leading scorer across all formats of the game, although his outspoken personality and on-pitch single-mindedness made him a polarising figure, with former England players divided in their reactions to the news of his axing, the report added.