Nasser Hussain says 'no way back' for KP after batman's blistering attacks on Prior, Flower

Former England captain Nasser Hussain as said that there is no way back for ousted batsman Kevin Pietersen after the country's all-time leading run-scorer launched his autobiography with blistering attacks on wicketkeeper Matt Prior and former coach Andy Flower.

The South Africa-born batsman, who was axed by England earlier this year after the team's 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia, claimed that there had been a bullying culture under Flower, but targeted Prior for his most stinging criticism and accused of being a bad influence.

Pietersen made the accusations while promoting his autobiography ahead of its release on Thursday.

Pietersen claimed that Prior was the ringleader of a group including senior bowlers Graeme Swann, now retired, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, who would lay into their team-mates for dropping catches, Sport24 reported.

Former England captain Hussain said that he had some sympathy for Pietersen's views, adding that it really tells one a lot about team spirit. He said that always there when one is winning but always fades away when they are losing.

Hussain said that he has read a lot of stuff from Pietersen and has nodded at and agreed with, about shouting at players in the outfield. He said that team spirit is about respect and what happened in the end was that the respect had gone, between Pietersen and his teammates.

Hussain, who played his last Test in 2004, said that once one loses that respect, and then starts losing games of cricket, the wheels can only come off.

Pietersen insisted that he had not given up hope of playing for England again but Hussain said that he could not see how a return was possible, given the batsman's outspoken comments about the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and lack of recent form. ussain said that some of the stuff Pietersen wrote in his autobiography, he cannot see any way back for the batsman.

The former skipper said that the best way to answer Pietersen's critics, and pile the pressure on England captain Alastair Cook and the ECB was to go out there and smash hundreds for Surrey. But he added that Pietersen never did that, and is letting his book do the talking instead of his batting.