England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive David Collier poised to heal rift with South Africa Pietersen, who was left out of the third Test following the emergence of details about the messages, has signed a new central contract with England after apologising, but Collier's comments a week ago reignited the situation with Cricket South Africa's acting chief executive, Jacques Faul, describing the claims as "absolute rubbish" and South African players demanding an apology. The row threatened to cause a serious rift between England and South Africa and potentially even lead to legal action, but on Sunday night it was claimed Collier had taken steps to mend the fractured relationship. Following talks between ECB chairman Giles Clarke and CSA acting president Dr Willie Basson, it has been reported a statement will be released today. In it, the parties will say that although the countries differ on the events that led to the messages being exchanged, the ECB accepts there was nothing underhand in the behaviour of the South Africans.