Kevin Pietersen must prove to Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower he is committed to England's Ashes cause I do think KP will probably give England that Ashes guarantee. But he will call it a day after those two Ashes series and become a T20 traveller. That is the nature of modern game. He will not be the first or the last. He will just be the first English player. It is why the England and Wales Cricket Board has taken a hard line on this and should be applauded. By standing up to Pietersen it has done more than any other board to protect 50-over cricket. International players may be getting a bit bored of the format but the fans still love it. It needs help to survive. Allowing Pietersen to pick and choose would start a tidal wave of other players who don't fancy the hard work of 50-over cricket. England will have been surprised by the timing of his decision. To hear Hugh Morris say he is "disappointed" means that in reality he was bloody angry. He just cannot say that openly. England have bent over backwards to accommodate Pietersen in 50-over cricket. They allowed him to open, which gives him the longest time to bat, and it appeared to spark in him a buzz for the game. Alastair Cook and Andy Flower found it was working well. It also helped KP find his Test match form again. The one-dayers in the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan helped rebuild confidence for that Test hundred in Sri Lanka and a good IPL. In front of the cameras, the players will give straight answers but they will be as surprised as me. They are likely to say it is "KP being KP. He does things you wouldn't expect. He's not like the rest of us. They will also be looking for reaction at Edgbaston. KP has to be careful and watch what he says. The last thing you want is someone around the team in Test cricket talking about having three weeks off while all the others are having to work hard and getting stuck into a one-day series. These last few days, knowing he has a week at home before the next Test, he might have realised he enjoys time with his family and by not playing for England it clears time to spend with his son. I know from my experience that there will be meetings over the next few days about what to do next with Kevin. Questions will be asked. Do we still need him? Has he moved on from England in the way that Chris Gayle moved away from the West Indies? Is that the player we are dealing with now? When I first heard the news on Thursday my gut reaction was he should never play again and kick him out the team. I thought he has used England to build a career and is now more interested in the IPL. But then you sit back and breathe. England are a weaker side without him. Andy Flower is a pragmatist. Pietersen still wins Test matches for England and the success they had in recent years has added to the pressure. We now expect them to win the Ashes and stay No 1. Pietersen may have selfish reasons for scoring runs but as much as Cook and Trott have been consistent, the opposition fear KP. South Africa will be wary of him the most this summer. When he first came into the side his sole ambition was to be the best Test player in the world. At times he has achieved that. He changes matches and has made a lot of money in England. But now he is a marquee Twenty20 player. His century in this year's IPL for Delhi made him a big star. He has longevity in the IPL, is a huge name and has a massive image rights deal. KP made his reputation here but India will make him wealthy. That is his market now. I always stress to young cricketers "play as long as you can." The day you call it quits you will wish you had played a bit more. Kevin is 31, the schedule is ridiculous but when you finish you see it differently and think it is not that bad. You also realise it is harder being in the real world than the cricket world.