Vaughn backs KP's abusive bowlers claim

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Former England captain Michael Vaughn has backed up Kevin Pietersen's claims that there was a "bullying culture" in the national team.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has backed up Kevin Pietersen's claims that there was a "bullying culture" in the national team.

Pietersen criticized former Andy Flower, wicketkeeper Matt Prior and several other bowlers heavily in his autobiography (which comes out this week) for forcing fielders to apologise when they made mistakes.

He also reiterated the claims in an interview with the <i>Telegraph</i> on Monday.

Vaughan, who captained Pietersen in 2005, wrote in a column in the same newspaper on Tuesday that he experienced the same culture during his career.

"As for this issue that Kevin raises about the bowlers' cabal, it has been a problem for several years," he wrote.

"The likes of Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad have been disrespectful to fielders. No one drops a catch on purpose. How would they feel if every time they bowled a bad ball, everyone turned to them and said: 'What the hell are you doing?'

"The irony is that James Anderson has spoken about how difficult it was for him when he first played for England. So I hope these bowlers know what they are doing to the guys around them, especially the inexperienced ones."

So far Vaughan has been the only former player to back-up Pietersen's claims. Swann referred to claims as a "work of fiction".

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