Boycott, Fletcher back Pietersen, slam ECB

London, Jan 8: Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott and ex-coach Duncan Fletcher backed beleaguered Kevin Pietersen and blamed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the turmoil in the team.

Pietersen resigned as the England captain Wednesday after a fallout with coach Peter Moores, with whom he disagreed on many issues including Michael Vaughan's exclusion from the West Indies tour. Moores has also tendered his resignation and Andrew Strauss has been appointed as the captain for the tour to West Indies later this year.

Boycott felt that ECB should have backed Pietersen.

"What did the England and Wales Cricket Board expect when they appointed him (Pietersen)? They knew then he was outrageous and different, a one-off and a showman. But the most important thing is he's a winner," Boycott wrote in his column in The Daily Telegraph.

Boycott felt that Pietersen's outspoken nature was one of the main reason behind his stepping down as the captain.

"Maybe KP told the board some home truths, and also told some players to buck up their ideas if they wanted to win the Ashes. Some people just can't take the truth. Geniuses are often misunderstood," he said.

Fletcher, who guided England to the Ashes win in 2005, felt that by appointing Strauss as the captain ECB has made things worse.

"Strauss is currently not in the one-day team and his bosses have made it clear they want the same captain in charge in all forms of cricket. It would be tricky for Strauss to establish himself as the Test captain only, because you're then back to the perilous split-captaincy scenario - and that might only exacerbate the current unease in the dressing room. So the chances are they would have to bring a guy back into the one-day side who they obviously don't think is good enough in the first place," he said.

Boycott also felt the same about Strauss and said: "In Andrew Strauss, they have gone for a safe pair of hands. But by appointing him they have given themselves another problem. When they made KP captain the selectors said it was because they wanted somebody good enough for the Test and one-day teams. But he isn't good enough for one-day internationals."

Boycott also said that Moores coach doesn't bother him.

"When Moores was appointed, my choice would have been John Wright. A quiet lad, but with an iron fist inside a velvet glove. As coach of India he had a strong captain in Sourav Ganguly, but players and public adored him. He played for New Zealand, but he has no ego," he said.

--IANS