ECB dismisses KP claims
26/07/2009 6:00 AM
The England and Wales Cricket Board has dismissed claims that Kevin Pietersen aggravated his Achilles injury after going against medical advice during his Indian Premier League stint.
Pietersen has been ruled out of the final three Ashes Tests due to the the complaint and reports suggest the batsman made the problem worse during a jog on the beach while on duty with Bangalore Royal Challengers.
But the ECB has firmly denied that Pietersen's actions constituted a break with his prescribed training plan.
A spokesman told The Guardian: "Pietersen reported to Loughborough before he flew out to South Africa (for the IPL) and was passed fit to join up with Bangalore.
"ECB medical staff sent Bangalore a fitness programme and at no stage did Kevin Pietersen do anything to contradict that and at no stage was he told not to go running.
"Kevin Pietersen is the most diligent and responsible of trainers and prides himself on his physical fitness and preparation for playing cricket. The ECB medical staff hold him as one of the best examples of a player who does everything within his power to achieve maximum fitness to play cricket."
A spokesman for Pietersen reiterated that position, adding: "Kevin had a medical before he went on the trip. He would not have been allowed to get on the plane if there was anything wrong.
"They gave him a programme and told him to stick to it but he was never told not to go running."
Bangalore physio Evan Speechly had earlier claimed Pietersen's Achilles problem flared up after he 'got carried away' and went for a morning run in Durban.