Graeme Swann: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Swann bowling against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in the second Test. Scorecard. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Graeme Swann hopes to bury Kevin Pietersen and his autobiography 20,000 leagues under the sea.

What he said:

“I expected it to be the biggest work of fiction since Jules Verne and that seems to have happened.”

Graeme Swann has little time for Kevin Pietersen and his rantings. The former England off-spinner and KP’s ex-teammate dismissed his allegations of being a bully during his tenure with the squad.

“The one thing will say. I immediately realised it was codswallop when I read the character assassination of Matt Prior. Tragically I don’t think Kev realises the one person who fought tooth and nail to keep him in the side is the one person he is now assassinating: Matt Prior.

Kevin has been quite clever because the guys still playing he has left alone and he hopes to get back in again one day. He has picked on people who he thinks can’t answer back.”

He added:

“If that was the case a lot of people would have flagged it up before. We had a magnificent team ethos and team spirit until Mitchell Johnson took his blindfold off and then it all fell apart.

It was strange to watch my team-mates this summer, all those people I’d bullied all those years. I’d have loved to have been out there giving them Chinese burns.”

Paul Downton said:

“What I do know is there’s been no formal or informal complaint about bullying.”

Matt Prior tweeted:

After this morning I'm looking forward to reading the full kp book. Might bully my kids into getting it for me for Xmas!!

—
Matt Prior (@MattPrior13) October 06, 2014

1/2 Obvs sad to see the accusations against me this am and I WILL have my right of reply! However today is not the day and Twitter is not..

—
Matt Prior (@MattPrior13) October 06, 2014

2/2 ...the place for it! Now back to my Achilles rehab and learning to walk again! have a great day everyone

—
Matt Prior (@MattPrior13) October 06, 2014

What Swann really meant:

“No one really expected KP’s book to be complimentary of his teammates or the then-administration. Of course, I’m surprised by the allegations. But what did I lose out on? Nothing! So I’ll keep mum and say nothing about being a bit of a bully on the field. An atmosphere of fear? Ha! Not something to complain about when I’m the one held in awe.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’m going to be attending a seminar by Mitchell Johnson ‘Bullying and harassment on the cricket field: How to confront and overcome it’.”