Prior defends himself as Pietersen fall-out continues

(Reuters) – England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has defended himself against allegations that he undermined former coach Andy Flower during the disastrous recent Ashes tour of Australia before turning his back on Kevin Pietersen.

Television personality Piers Morgan, a friend of Pietersen whose England career ended this week, suggested on Twitter that the South Africa-born batsman was being made a scapegoat for falling out with Flower, although he was not the only player to have concerns about the coach.

“Flower’s behaving like a headmaster, this is a schoolboy environment. F**K Flower! This is OUR team!’ – @MattPrior13 to England team,” Morgan tweeted.

Morgan also said Pietersen was popular with the younger members of the team. He described Prior as a hypocrite for siding with the players who were upset at Flower’s methods, but then stabbing Pietersen in the back when talking to Flower, who quit last week, about the issue.

The accusations were denied by Prior, who was dropped for the final two tests in Australia after a run of poor form.

“I don’t do this PR, spinning media rubbish,” Prior said on Twitter.