Kevin Pietersen: England’s Alastair Cook ‘paralysed’ by post-Ashes row

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/oct/06/kevin-pietersen-alastair-cook-paralysed-ashes-row

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Kevin Pietersen believes Alastair Cook’s failure to back him after last winter’s Ashes tour “called into question his qualifications to be captain” but admits the England skipper was “paralysed” by an “uncomfortable” situation.

In his autobiography KP, Pietersen also blames England’s demise on a “bullying” culture allowed to fester by Andy Flower and led by the wicketkeeper Matt Prior, in which he and other team-mates were repeatedly mocked and abused for making mistakes.

England’s all-time leading run-scorer insists he never had any problems with Cook, who he said tried to rectify the bullying problems when he first became captain, but Pietersen described his disappointment at how his skipper handled the fall-out from the disastrous 2013-14 tour of Australia.

“I was disappointed. I had gone out of my way to support him on the Ashes tour,” wrote Pietersen, reacting to Cook’s “neutral” response to a question about Pietersen’s future in the team.

“The next time I saw Cooky he was staring at his shoes while I was being told I would not be included in the England squads in the Caribbean or in the World T20.

“I was disappointed in him then. I thought the way he behaved called into question his qualifications to be captain. But I know too that he is a decent guy and that he was paralysed by how uncomfortable it all was.”

Pietersen revealed details of his sacking and the meetings held with “the three wise men” – Cook, the chairman of selectors, James Whitaker, and the ECB managing director, Paul Downton.

Downton suggested Pietersen needed to have more of a team focus but Pietersen claims Cook remained quiet, “still looking at something fascinating on his shoe”.

Pietersen wrote: “Alastair Cook knows that on the Ashes tour there were absolutely no problems with me in the dressing room. Alastair Cook knows that I scored the most runs for England on that tour. Alastair Cook knows that I had his back 100%.

“Any advice I could give, I did. I opened the door and said to him, ‘listen, I am here to help you. I want you to be successful’. I told him that again and again. If he needed me at any time, I would be there. I know, though, that while Cooky is a nice man, he is also a company man. A safe pair of hands; he won’t rock the boat.”

Downton went on to criticise Pietersen’s performances in Australia, saying that he had batted carelessly.

“Really? I looked at him, my mouth hanging open,” Pietersen wrote. “I didn’t mind that Paul Downton, according to Google, was a middle-order batsman with a Test average of under 20. But I did mind that as an administrative employee of the ECB he felt free to critique the performances of players, indeed that he had the right to do so.”

Pietersen goes on to suggest that Cook took the “easy” option to sack him because he was frightened by rumours he could replace Prior as vice-captain.

“I think Cooky felt a hell of a lot of pressure at that time,” Pietersen wrote. “It wasn’t going to happen, but he would have thought ‘fucking hell, KP as vice-captain? KP wants Prior gone? Where would that leave me if everyone’s saying that I should go too?’

“I think that process probably made it quite easy for him when he was given the option of getting rid of me. I think the thought of me becoming vice-captain probably scared him.”