Summary Kevin Pietersen has accused England cricket team of fostering ‘bullying culture’ in dressing room.
LONDON (AP) - Kevin Pietersen has criticized England s hierarchy for allowing what he perceived to be a culture of bullying and intimidation in the national team, accusing former coach Andy Flower of ruling "by fear" and ex-teammate Matt Prior of picking on players.
In an interview with British newspaper The Daily Telegraph ahead of the release of his autobiography, Pietersen said Prior the team s wicketkeeper and England s bowlers "ran the dressing room" and that fielders were forced to apologize for errors and dropped catches.
"Horrendous. Hugely disturbing," Pietersen was quoted Monday as saying.
The South African-born Pietersen, who was told in February that he had no future with England after nine turbulent years in the team, said that it got to the point where Flower and former captain Andrew Strauss said they had been approached by team members that were "intimidated to field the ball."
"I thought, I reckon I could hit these guys," Pietersen said. "Who do you think you are, to ask for an apology from someone who s trying his heart out, who s playing for his country, who s making a mistake?"
Pietersen targeted Prior by saying he was a "bad influence, a negative influence he picks on player."
Prior reacted on Twitter, saying it was "sad to see the accusations against me."
"I WILL have my right of reply!" Prior wrote. "However today is not the day and Twitter is not the place for it!"
The England and Wales Cricket Board said it would not be commenting because the governing body had not received Pietersen s book despite requests to the publishers.
Pietersen is a former England captain and the country s all-time leading run-scorer in all formats. However the brash batsman s talent has regularly been overshadowed by his ability to attract controversy, notably when he was dropped for exchanging provocative messages with South Africa players about then-captain Strauss during a test series.
Pietersen was reintegrated to the team but was dropped permanently after England s embarrassing tour of Australia, when it was whitewashed 5-0 in the Ashes series.
Flower, who left his position after the tour to Australia, was accused by Pietersen of building a regime, not a team.
"I told him on numerous occasions, You re playing by fear here, you want guys to be scared of you. And Andy I m not scared of you. And he hated it."
The 34-year-old Pietersen said he still wanted to play for England again.
"I know that my issues are not just the captain of England but the board," Pietersen said. "If that changes and I believe it could do in the next few months then I really believe I could play for England again.
"The reason I want to play for England is that I honestly 100 percent believe I can help the youngsters get better and I believe I can help Cooky (captain Alastair Cook) get better."
