Broad shoots down Pietersen’s remarks

England pacer brushes off former captain’s dampening comments.

LONDON: Stuart Broad has insisted England are anything but a depressed side after former star batsman Kevin Pietersen suggested there was ‘an underlying current of unhappiness’ in the dressing room after recent defeats.

Despite being England’s all-time leading run-scorer across all formats, South Africa-born Pietersen was cast into international exile by team chiefs following the side’s return from a 5-0 Ashes loss.

That meant the former captain did not feature in England’s recent 1-0 home defeat by Sri Lanka.

After the match, Pietersen, along with Geoffrey Boycott and Shane Warne, criticised various aspects of England captain Alastair Cook’s leadership.

But England paceman Broad said the ‘environment’ within the England camp had improved since Pietersen’s departure.

“The environment that Cook and [coach] Peter Moores are developing is strong,” said Broad. “You can see that from the performances of the young guys coming in.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2014.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.