Kevin Pietersen's England career – in pictures

2004 October – joins Hampshire and becomes eligible to play international cricket for England thanks to his mother, Penny, who was born in the country Photograph: Brandon Malone/Action Images

2005
May – not named in Test squad for series against Bangladesh despite fan and media backing. England go on to win the two-match series 2-0 Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty Images

July – takes the place of Graham Thorpe in the Test squad after Thorpe announces his retirement from Test cricket. Pietersen becomes the fourth England player to top-score in both innings on debut with scores of 57 and 64 Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty Images

September – helps England win the Ashes series against Australia 2-1 after scoring 158 in the fifth Test at the Oval, earning himself man-of-the-match and the accolade of highest scorer in the series with 473 Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

2006 May – becomes the first player to score hundreds in three consecutive home Tests since Graham Gooch in 1990 Photograph: Alessandro Abbonizio/AFP/Getty Images

2008 August – becomes the new England Test and one-day captain replacing Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood, who step down from their respective roles Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty Images

December – secures a personal landmark of a hundred against South Africa and tells the England fans that he has never felt so loved Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

2009 January – controversy hits the England squad as Pietersen steps down as England captain due to 'irretrievable breakdown of relationship between captain and coach'. England coach, Peter Moores, is sacked in the process Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

July – despite top-scoring with 69 on the opening day of the 2009 home Ashes series, Pietersen is criticised for playing a sweep which leads to his dismissal. Pietersen injures himself in the second Test and his tour is ended Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty Images

November – playing in a Test series in the country of his birth for the first time, Pietersen struggles, recording only 177 runs in six innings. Receives ridicule for a run-out in the first Test at Centurion Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty Images

2010 December – scores 227 in second Test in Adelaide in the successful Ashes series of 2010-11 Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

2011 July – hits 202 not out, his second highest score ever, and passes 6,000 runs – exactly six years after making his debut – making Pietersen the fastest player in terms of time to do so Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

2012 May – feeling trapped by his central England contract and wanting to play more in the Indian Premier League, Pietersen announces his retirement from international one-day cricket. The ECB demands all or nothing, and drops Pietersen from the September World T20 squad Photograph: Laruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images

August – hero to zero: reaches 7,000 runs faster than any batsman when he hits 149 in second Test against South Africa. But he is then axed from the team for the third because of disparaging texts he sent to opposition players Photograph: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images

November – scores 186 against India in Mumbai as England win a Test series in India for the first time in 28 years Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

2013 August – becomes the highest run-scorer across all forms of international cricket combined with a century in the third summer Ashes Test Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

2014 January – top-scores among England batsmen in 5-0 Ashes defeat yet receives blame for his carefree, attacking approach, with Geoffrey Boycott saying he 'bottles it'. Pietersen reiterates his desire to play on until at least 2015, and to help England regain the Ashes Photograph: Matt King/Getty Images