Pietersen slams 'bullying' England culture

October 06, 2014 09:31

Kevin Pietersen has hit out at the "horrendous" bullying of some of his former England team-mates and accused former coach Andy Flower of "ruling by fear".

In an interview with today's edition of the Daily Telegraph, to promote an autobiography due to be published on Thursday, the South Africa-born batsman Pietersen said he still did not understand why he was effectively sacked.

He added that Cook had been put in an "incredibly difficult position" by the ECB, following his banishment from the team.

Despite everything Pietersen -- who has scored over 8,000 runs in 104 Tests, including 23 hundreds at an average of nearly 48, insisted he had not given up hope of representing England again even though he played no County Championship cricket for Surrey last season.

"Why was I sacked? I'd love to know," he said.

Pietersen, 34, added he'd been shocked by the way senior bowlers Graeme Swann (now retired), Stuart Broad and James Anderson as well as currently injured wicketkeeper Matt Prior abused fielders for dropping catches.

"The thing that horrified me was when Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss said: 'Guys we've got to stop this, it's not right for the team, there are guys that have come to (us) that are intimidated to field the ball.'

"And (the bowlers) had the audacity to stand there and say: 'No, if they've ****** up we deserve an apology.' It's the most angry I ever got in that dressing room.

"I thought, 'I reckon I could hit these guys. Who do you think you are, to ask for an apology from someone who's trying his heart out? Are you perfect, are you never going to drop a catch? Are you never going to bowl a wide?'

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