London--Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith was among several pundits who slammed Andrew Strauss's decision to maintain Kevin Pietersen's international exile, saying it had made English cricket a "laughing stock".
Strauss, one of several England captains whose time as skipper came to an end after a series against a Proteas side led by Smith, has recently been installed as England's director of cricket.
On Tuesday, Strauss said Pietersen would remain in the international wilderness, with the South Africa-born batsman exiled from the England squad ever since the team returned from a 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia last year.
Strauss, whose final months as England captain in 2012 were clouded by "provocative" texts sent by Pietersen to Proteas players, said a "massive trust issue" lay at the heart of his decision.
Pietersen, 34, had been given hope of a Test return when new England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves said he would be considered if he made enough runs in county cricket.
But just hours after he scored a maiden triple century for Surrey on Monday, Strauss met with Pietersen to tell him to forget about playing for England this season.
Yet Tuesday also saw Strauss announce that he'd offered Pietersen a role as an advisor to the one-day side which the star batsman had turned down.
"I see the head boy is making English cricket the laughing stock again! #StraussLogic", tweeted Smith.
Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who played in the same 2005 Ashes-winning side as Pietersen, said players became more mature as they got older.
AFP
