Stuart Broad and James Anderson, two of the senior players Kevin Pietersen claimed were part of the group in the England team that bullied younger members of the team, have dismissed the allegations.
Broad drew comparisons with football to explain that Pietersen had confused passion with bullying. “The ‘bullying’ word has not crossed my mind in eight or nine years of playing international cricket,” Broad told BBC Sport on Wednesday (October 29). “You would expect guys to be excited and passionate about playing for their country.
“I look at my heroes growing up, the likes of Martin Johnson (former England rugby union captain). Look at Peter Schmeichel (former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper) – when he conceded a goal, he certainly gave Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister (United defenders) a earful.
“I don’t know if that would be classed as bullying, or just the passion of being disappointed. It sounds like Kevin didn’t enjoy his time in the England side, which is disappointing to hear.”
Anderson, also speaking to BBC Sport, said that Pietersen’s allegations threatened to take the sheen out of England’s achievements during the period in question, and pointed out that the culture in the team was the reason for England reaching the No. 1 ranking in Tests in 2011.
“It puts a bitter taste in your mouth about a really fruitful time for an England team, who were one of the best England teams I’ve been around in recent times,” he said. “We try to challenge each other, try to push each other to improve and get the best out of each other. The culture we built is the reason we got to No. 1 in the world.”
The two England pacers also denied any role in the parody Twitter account that mocked Pietersen in 2012, which Pietersen claimed was operated by players from the dressing room. Earlier this month, Alec Stewart, the former England captain, supported Pietersen’s claims and said that he had been informed at the time by Richard Bailey, creator of the account, that Broad, Tim Bresnan and Swann all had passwords to the @KPGenius Twitter handle.
“Back in 2012, I thought that had been dealt with,” said Broad. “I denied it at the time. I sat in a room with Kevin in Mumbai and all seemed fine. But it’s people’s opinions; you can’t change that. Everyone’s got books to write, to fill pages, and that was part of Kevin’s book. I’m not unhappy with him about that.”
Anderson added, “I wasn’t aware of anything. The England and Wales Cricket Board looked into it and there were chats with KP around the time of his reintegration. As far as we are concerned that was sorted out.”
It was passion, not bullying, claims Broad
