Kevin Pietersen.

Andrew Strauss has said that Kevin Pietersen won't be a part of England's plans this summer due to an erosion of trust between the highest run-scorer for his country and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

"The first thing to say is that now is the time for open honest conversation. He's been a phenomenal player," Strauss said.

"Over months and years the trust between himself and the ECB has eroded … because of that we've decided it's not in the best short-term interests of the side for him to be in that team."

"We can't have a situation where the ECB and Kevin Pietersen don't trust each other. If there's a way to build trust let's look at it. But at the moment we're quite estranged."

"He's not barred from playing for England. He's not part of our plans this summer, I can't make any guarantees to him, or any player, beyond that."

"The trust isn't there at the moment. I wish it wasn't the case, but it is the case."

"It's not about his ability as a player. It's about trust. You can't build that over a few days."

There are reports Strauss offered Pietersen an advisory role with the ODI team and this offer was rejected.

Pietersen underlined his Ashes ambitions by hitting his first triple century while batting for Surrey against Leicestershire at The Oval. He remained unbeaten on 355.

But reports soon emerged that Pietersen had been told by Strauss in a meeting not long after his triple ton that he wouldn't be picked for England again.

High-profile cricketing figures in Shane Warne, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff and David Lloyd then tweeted their disapproval of the rumoured decision.

"What more can I do? All I can do is score runs. I'm incredibly proud of how I played under pressure.

"People were saying on social media that this would be a career-defining innings for me and they were asking me if I was ready for it. I knew there was a lot of pressure on me and I was feeling it," said Pietersen.