KP gives 'thumbs up' to Strauss as ECB director

Melbourne [Australia] Dec. 3 (ANI): Maverick England batsman Kevin Pietersen has heaped praise on Andrew Strauss, saying the former left-handed batsman has done a good job as director of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Strauss was named ECB's director in May 2015 and quickly put an end to Pietersen's hopes of an international comeback that year, citing a lack of "trust" as a major reason behind his decision. "He's actually doing a very good job for England. He's stuck to his principles and he's not deviated," Pietersen was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. "And England have done OK; they've won against Australia, they've beaten South Africa in South Africa and they've got a huge series right now against India." "I think he's done an OK job. He's a current player and I like that about 'Straussy'. He's played over 100 Test matches and so he gets the modern-day thinking," he added. The 36-year-old said that his former skipper doesn't really get the shorter formats of the game because he hasn't played too much of that, but he does get the modern-day way, which I think is really good for a position like that. "I'm thumbs up with Straussy. We've had our issues but everyone has issues with certain people. It doesn't bother me now. I live with a smile on my face all day, every day," he said. Both Pietersen and Strauss have a notoriously contentious relationship, starting from the incident when Pietersen sent a text message to South African players calling the latter an unflattering word. Strauss, the former England opener, for his part, was later caught calling Pietersen a very rude word when he thought his commentary mic was off. (ANI)