Welcome back, KP?

And so the saga which has dogged English cricket for months takes another twist. Kevin Pietersen is to undergo a 'process of re-integration', or so the ECB has claimed. What this 'process' is, in practice, remains to be seen, in truth. We know the details of what it entails and these need no further comment. But, there are two sides to every story. KP finally seems to be as remorseful as the ECB wanted him to be, having announced he has again apologised to Andrew Strauss, again reiterated his desire to play for England in all forms of cricket, until, at least the 2015 World Cup and again, has seemingly turned his back on the riches and glamour of IPL/Big Bash/ insert t20 competition here. For how long, however, remains to be seen. Yes, that may be a cynical view, but doubts must surely remain as to Pietersen's loyalty. Things said and done cannot just heal thanks to a meeting or two with Giles Clarke and the ECB administration. Rifts take time to heal and only time will tell if Pietersen really is as loyal to the cause as he claims.

Again, it is all very well making peace with those at the top of the off-the-field structure, but another thing entirely to make peace with the players. It must be noted that there have been very few, if any, senior professionals who have backed Pietersen in this whole affair in the public sense, and it is doubtful whether they have privately either. Senior pros Swann, Anderson and Cook have publicly backed the coach, Andy Flower and ex-captain, Andrew Strauss throughout the whole affair and rightly so. As I made clear in my previous blog, if Pietersen doesn't want to play for England then let him go to do as he pleases. English cricket is, and always will be, bigger than one man. Nonetheless, it is plainly obvious that a team with (a committed) Pietersen is better than a team without him and Pietersen will, in all likelihood, remain a key component to the England side.

However, that comes with a huge proviso - Pietersen will remain a part of the England side 'if'' his re-integration process is successful. Effectively, he is undertaking a four-month trial period. For a team, an organisation, so keen on consistency and stability, questions have to be asked as to whether this 'trial' is really the correct way of sorting out the problems this summer has created. Consider not only KP and Andy Flower, but the likes of Jonny Bairstow, James Taylor and Nick Compton in the Test arena and the likes of Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler in the limited-overs format who are also affectively in limbo for the coming months. This will almost certainly have a destabilising effect upon these players who have been waiting for any opportunity to break into a very tough England side. Now, for all their efforts, they are in a very rocky place through no fault of their own. It is not to say some, if not all, of these names mentioned won't play for England at some point, but, as previously mentioned, England do not like to chop and change too much and with Pietersen back in the fold, chances will certainly be more limited.

Whilst Pietersen may well be back on terms with the ECB, it is very much doubtful that this summer's big cricket news is over. At the end of the 're-integration' is the time to evaluate Pietersen's loyalty to English cricket. What is certain is that Pietersen has a lot of work to do to convince the senior pro's he truly is one of them, striving for the same goals, as a team.