London, Aug 15: The England and Wales Cricket Board says it has received an apology from batsman Kevin Pietersen for sending "provocative texts" to South Africa players about the England team.
In a statement released on the ECB website Tuesday, managing director Hugh Morris says "further discussions need to take place to establish whether it is possible to regain the trust and mutual respect" with Pietersen, and "those discussions should take place behind closed doors, rather than in the media spotlight."
Pietersen was dropped from the England test squad on Sunday after the existence of the text messages came to light.
He says "I apologize to Straussy (England captain Andrew Strauss) and the team for the inappropriate remarks and for the texts. I truly didn't mean to cause upset or tension particularly with important games at stake."
England plays South Africa the third and last test at Lord's starting on Thursday. England trails the series 1-0 and must beat the No. 2-ranked South Africans to retain its top test ranking.
