ECB chairman Colin Graves has insisted that no promises were made to Kevin Pietersen regarding a potential recall to the England setup.
Earlier this week, Pietersen recorded a career-high innings of 355 during a county game for Surrey, leading to suggestions that he could be named in the England Test team for the upcoming series against New Zealand.
However, Andrew Strauss, the new director of English cricket, announced that Pietersen would remain absent from the international stage due to a lack of trust between the two, which resulted in Pietersen questioning a conversation between himself and Graves.
Graves has hit back at Pietersen's claims, and in a statement released via the ECB, he has defended his "integrity" and revealed that he fully supports the decision taken by Strauss.
Graves said: "In the past few days, my integrity has been called into question, something I can't accept. Throughout my business career and my years at Yorkshire, integrity has been my watchword. It governs everything I do and is an important part of what I bring to the ECB.
"So it saddens me that, what was a private conversation with Kevin in March, has been used to do just that.
"Back then, when we talked on the phone, Kevin asked if I thought his England career had ended in the right manner following the last Ashes series in Australia. I agreed that nobody particularly emerged with much credit from the whole episode, particularly given his achievements for England.
"Kevin felt he had a lot to offer and was interested in a dialogue with the ECB, sorting things out and working together. He would love to play for England again but he wanted to contribute, whether as a player or not.
"I didn't make any promises. There were no guarantees that if he chose to exit his IPL contract, play county cricket and score runs he would be selected for England. And I said he should make any decision on his future on that basis.
"I can see something has been misunderstood around the conversation and in the following debate - and perhaps how that happened.
"What I did stress was that when I took over as chairman, I would back those people whose job it was to take decisions on team selection. I stand by that.
"Ahead of a big, busy summer of cricket, a clear decision needed to be taken. Given the history and the book, the simple fact is that bridges have still not been rebuilt and trust needs to be restored. That takes time - as Andrew Strauss made clear this week.
"Kevin was told on Monday and I completely support the decision that was taken. He may not have liked what he heard but it allowed him to look at his opportunities."
England begin the two-match Test series with New Zealand on Thursday, May 21.
Darren Plant
