Swann dismisses KP's bullying claims, says will 'eat his hat' if it can be proved

Former England bowler Graeme Swann has dismissed ousted batsman Kevin Pietersen's claims of bullying by bowlers in the dressing room in his autobiography.

In his recently released autobiography Pietersen has alleged that England's bowlers ruled with fear and demanded apologies for fielding mistakes. But Swann has claimed that his former teammate has given a false representation of what went on in the England set-up.

Swann said that there was absolutely no bullying, adding that if one could find footage of any bowler having a go at a fielder for dropping a catch, he would eat his hat, The BBC reported.

Pietersen, who scored 8,181 runs at an average of 47 in 104 Tests before being sacked in February, accused Swann of being part of a bowling team that was given so much power that it ran the dressing room. He claimed that those outside the circle were fair game for mocking, ridicule and bullying.

But Swann, who retired in December and is sixth on the list of England wicket-takers with 255 in 60 Test, responded that sure, bowlers shout at fielders if they are out of position or not concentrating.

Swann said that a bowler or wicketkeeper delivers a bit of a kick up the backside, just like a goalkeeper shouts at his centre-half. He added that this is international sport, not the under-11s.

The former bowler said that if Pietersen or other players can't take that they are in the wrong business.

Meanwhile, Pietersen's former England teammate and limited-overs coach Ashley Giles said that he did not sense any unrest in the camp.

Giles said that he played in a dressing room with Pietersen and got on very well with the batsman, but added that similarly he got on well with those other guys as well.

Giles, who has been appointed as Lancashire's new head coach, said that when he coached them he never had any major issues with any of them.