Kevin Pieterson accepts 'substantial' libel damages from Specsavers
Kevin Pietersen, the England test batsman, has accepted undisclosed damages from Specsavers opticians.
The defamation claim related to an advert which appeared in August on Facebook and Twitter, showing a photo negative of Pietersen batting in this summer's Ashes series captioned "Apparently, Hot Spot should've gone to Specsavers."
The caption referred to allegations within the Australian media that Pietersen was using a special kind of tape on his bat which could avoid showing up on the hotspot system, which detects whether a ball has nicked the edge of the bat.
The suggestions were largely laughed off by the cricket community, Pietersen himself reacting angrily on twitter. However, Specsavers' use of the image was ruled to constitute a defamatory suggestion that Pietersen had engaged in the serious offence of bat tampering.
Specsavers', whose advertising has been the key to success since the deregulation of the optics market in 1984, acknowledged through its solicitor Niri Shan that it had made a false allegation and has apologised.