Kevin Pietersen's Autobiography: 5 Early Revelations from His Story

Kevin Pietersen's autobiography has let the cat out amongst the pigeons, with a few startling claims that range from a bullying culture in the England dressing room to revelations about the Textgate scandal that dominated the South African tour of 2012.

What has become clear is that Pietersen's book is going to be talked about for a while yet. 

Most of the revelations have been trickling down since the start of the week, and we've picked five which have made the most headlines.

1. There Is a Struggle for Harmony in the Dressing Room

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This is probably one of the biggest revelations following the release of the book.

Kevin Pietersen alleges that a culture of bullying exists in the England dressing room, which sees a few bowlers running the show.

The former England man told The Telegraph (h/t Reuters):

"

The bowlers were given so much power. They were doing really well. Swanny (former England spinner Graeme Swann) was winning game after game for us. Broady (England paceman Stuart Broad) was contributing. Jimmy (Anderson) was contributing.

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Allegedly, the bowlers would shout at players when they dropped a catch and forced them to apologise.

Per The Sydney Daily Telegraph (h/t The Guardian), former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has backed up these claims. Meanwhile, per Eyewitness News Sport on Twitter, former South Africa captain Graeme Smith added that they always knew the England players would start "turning on each other." 

2. Matt Prior Is a Bad Influence

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Amid all the mudslinging, Matt Prior probably comes out as one of the worst.

His nickname, “The Big Cheese,” has caused a lot of hype, and his treatment of players who weren’t part of the “dominant clique” has caused a big fuss, according to the Daily Mail.

Furthermore, in his interview with The Telegraph, Pietersen says Prior was extra harsh on Nick Compton, Ravi Bopara and even Jonathan Trott if they messed up in the field.

Meanwhile, guys like Jimmy Anderson and Graeme Swann would not be reprimanded.  

In the book, Pietersen calls Prior the "schoolyard bully" as well as "the teacher's pet," per the Mail. He also refers to him talking behind backs and slams his approach to being vice-captain: "Being vice-captain seemed to go to his head. Sad, especially when he isn’t really vice-captaincy material at all." 

3. Andy Flower Ruled by Fear

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In his interview with The Telegraph, Pietersen calls Andy Flower's coaching regime into question, claiming nobody in the team dared question his authority.

Pietersen says that he did not agree with Flower's strategies and believes that this is what slowly led to him being ostracised from the team. He also reveals how he told Flower that Jonathan Trott was struggling during the Ashes in Australia, prior to him flying home with a stress-related illness.

In the book, he adds that Flower was unpleasant to work with and refers to him as a "mood hoover," according to the Daily Mirror. 

4. A Fake Twitter Account Led Him to Tears

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Pietersen also discusses the much-publicised Textgate scandal, which occurred during South Africa's tour to England in 2012, in his interview with The Telegraph.

Derogatory texts about Andrew Strauss were exchanged, which Pietersen admits were a mistake, before adding that a fake Twitter account led him to tears and the wrong path.

The account, Pietersen alleges, was run by some members from inside the dressing room. In his book, per The Guardian, he adds he told Flower: "The guys have this Twitter account about me. It’s just all making me incredibly unhappy."

A number of implicated players have denied the claims, including Tim Bresnan, who wrote on Twitter he was not involved (h/t Cricket365.com).

The man behind the account, Richard Bailey, has also told The Guardian that no players were involved. 

5. Alastair Cook Is a Passive Leader

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Kevin Pietersen spared current England captain Alastair Cook from harsh criticism.

Cook is given the benefit of the doubt, while Pietersen puts the bulk of the blame on the ECB. He says in the book that Cook's failure to back him did "call into question his qualifications to be captain," per The Guardian, but tells The Telegraph it's the ECB who put him in an "uncomfortable" position.

Pietersen writes he never had problems with Cook and did feel disappointed since he "went out of his way to support him (Cook) on the Ashes tour."

He continues:

"

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. 

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