KP 'hung out to dry', says Harmison

Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison has shared his thoughts on the Kevin Pietersen saga that engulfed the national team, saying the controversial batsman was "hung out to dry".

Writing in his autobiography ‘Speed Demons’, Harmison says it was a "disgrace" when England team management compiled a dossier on Pietersen and the creation of a fake Twitter account parodying the former skipper was "totally out of order".

Harmison, who retired from international cricket in 2009 having played 63 Tests, was not involved in the England setup when tensions boiled over during the 2013-14 Ashes series in Australia, which the tourists lost emphatically 5-0.

But looking from afar, Harmison says he could see the pressure that had been placed on England’s fielders by their senior peers, an act that Pietersen labelled "bullying" - claims that were supported by former Australia captain and Ashes rival Ricky Ponting. 

"Kevin Pietersen did a lot of good things for English cricket and to sack him was disrespectful," Harmison wrote.

"Agreed, he said some stupid things, some nasty things. But there were things going on that were unprofessional. 

"A fake Twitter account was set up to mock Kevin and, whether that was (Stuart) Broad, (Graeme) Swann or whoever, it was totally out of order.

"Never, in a dressing room, should there be someone hung out to dry, because then you are playing 10 against 12."

Harmison continued: "After I’d left the team I did sense, as a fan and a pundit, there was a lot more pressure when it came to fielding. 

"If that was happening, Kevin was right to highlight it because that doesn’t help the harmony of the group.

"When the management joined in the victimisation, that’s what did for Kevin.

"To compile a dossier behind his back, as they did on the 2013-14 Ashes tour, was a disgrace.

"Fair enough, they might have to keep an eye on the situation, but to have a dossier, that shows intent. It shows they wanted to do what they did a long time before they did it. I can’t imagine for one minute there were 16 dossiers.

"I don’t imagine there was one against Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson."

Ponting, who played in 35 Ashes contests, said he could see England’s bowling unit attack their fielders for making mistakes in the heat of battle.

"We saw them doing it, Anderson was always the same, and Swann,’’ Ponting told News Ltd in October 2014. 

‘’The pointing of fingers and you’d hear a few expletives if there was a misfield or a dropped catch. 

"The guys who were doing it were the so-called leaders.  

"That’s where the captain has got to come in, not wait and let little things turn into big things. 

"That’s what it sounds like has happened in this England team. 

"If a young bloke had dropped a catch and a bowler went off at him, that’s just not acceptable. 

"No-one means to drop a catch, no-one means to bowl a bad ball, no-one means to play a bad shot. 

"It just happens in a game and you have to accept it and move on."

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Harmison does see a silver lining on the dark cloud that covered English cricket for several years, and that’s the management of England’s current mercurial player, Ben Stokes. 

Stokes has had a number of dramas while representing England – from picking fights with steel lockers to being sent home for intoxication – but has since matured into perhaps the most valuable all-round player in the world today. 

"There was an agenda from the ECB hierarchy to embarrass (Pietersen), to ridicule him, but that made the whole thing worse," Harmison wrote. 

"Perhaps they’ve learned their lesson. Ben Stokes is a good example.

"They could easily have hung him out to dry for some of the things he’s done … but they’ve identified him as they best we’ve got and worked with him. 

"England cannot afford to drive its best players away."